Burning Sun
by xFirex
Summary: Ness faces the challenges of school as she struggles with her newfound feelings for Jake. But the Cullens' peaceful life is soon shattered as they are pulled into a dark scheme of an old friend. Will they prevail once more? Or fail? And at who's cost?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hey, so I decided that I might as well start posting parts of this. It's at 150,000+ words and counting; I still have a long ways to go before I finish it. Also, it's pretty much rough and unedited, so it might take me a while to put the chapters up on here since I have little free time on my hands and don't have a beta to help me out. So. Here you go. Hope you like.

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters in here belong to S.M., not me. If you've heard of them before, they most probably belong to her. If you haven't heard of them, then he/she may have been one of my own made up characters.**

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**Preface**

I never thought it would end this way. How ironic that my mother's problems from her past would turn out to match so closely to mine? Flashes of my short life flicked in my mind and my grip on the strong hand in mine tightened. I fell into a defensive crouch as they approached with eyes red as blood. This is it.

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**Chapter One**

I walked through the hallways of my new school, clutching my books as if they were my lifeline. I focused my gaze downward, ignoring the contemptuous sneers on the faces of my fellow classmates. Picking up my pace, insults were tossed my way.

"Freak."

"Weirdo!"

"You don't belong here!"

"Get outta here!"

Blinking away the burning tears, I was nearly free, my outreached hand grazing the front doors, when a huge figure blocked my path. I looked up, smiling in immediate reaction to the familiar face I saw. But my breath froze as my chocolate brown eyes swept across his facial features, so familiar yet so different. Dark eyes usually warm and crinkled into a smile were cold and emotionless instead. The huge wolf-ish grin gone, replaced by a disgusted grimace. I felt my eyes widen and my body tense in shock.

"J-Jake?"

He glared down at me, his mouth twisting into a snarl at the sound of my quivering voice wrapped around his name. Looking around, I saw that his expression looked no different from my peers. Horror and fear filled me as I took a step back, but to no avail. They all lunged, teeth bared and nails outstretched, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.

"Monster!"

"Lock her up!"

"Destroy her!"

"Nessie!"

Not going down without a fight, I struggled against the cold hands restraining me.

"No! No!" I shouted. "Get away!"

"Nessie!"

"Renesmee?!"

"Sweetheart, wake up! It's a dream!"

I wrenched my eyes open and in a flash, I was in a defensive crouch across the room, a growl bubbling from my throat. Then my brain registered my surroundings. Three figures stood near my bed, faces twisted worriedly. One was a young woman with thick, hazel locks, her beautiful features currently arranged to show her anxiousness. Mom. The second was a striking young man with bronze hair tousled charmingly, his expression identical to the woman's. Dad. As my eyes slid to the final figure, I felt myself relax as I gazed into the warm eyes of my best friend. His familiar long, shaggy black hair framed his familiar strong face and his familiar huge form was familiarly only clad in a pair of familiar shorts. Jacob. _My Jake._ A small smile couldn't help but turn the corners of my mouth as I straightened up. Jake immediately followed suit and broke out into his grin. However, my mom, Bella, and dad, Edward, kept their expressions frozen on their face.

"Jake," I breathed, and he instantly strode to my side and engulfed me into a massive bear hug. Burrowing my face into his chest, I inhaled his woody scent and could feel the serenity wash over me.

"Heya, Ness. Gave us the scare there," Jake murmured into my hair. "Feel up to sharing?"

I sighed but gave in. I reached out with both of my hands, one to press onto Jake's chest and the other to grasp Mom's outstretched hand. My powers had expanded a few years after I was born and thus I did not have the need for contact with the face in order for my gift to work. I had to make sure I don't accidentally communicate like this to a human at school. Daddy would merely watch from my or Jake's mind.

As the images from my recent dream flashed through, I watched their reactions. Daddy looked strained, Momma looked worried, yet Jake was tranquil, fully content that I was safe. This made me smile.

"Oh, Nessie," Mom crooned and in a flash she was next to me, pulling me into an embrace, her cold yet comforting hands brushing my bronze hair away from my face. "They'll all love you."

"I know, I know. It was just a dream," I said exasperatedly. They were all so protective.

Dad claimed me next, hugging me tightly. "We have a right to be protective, sweetheart. And I'll add that if you have any problems with anyone, even wolfy here—" he nudged Jake "—then they'll have to answer to me."

Jake pulled me back into his arms and I shuddered from the sudden change in temperature. "And don't worry, Ness, I'll be there to protect you from all the bullies in the world. We'll all be there. Not that you'll really need it. You could probably take on the whole school in a rumble and win." He grinned. "And besides, they'd all be too busy soaking in your beauty to hate you."

I slapped his arm lightly but he still reeled back from my force. "Shut up, Jake." I knew I wasn't beautiful. Sure, I was probably better looking than the average human with my flawless rosy coloring, bright chocolate-brown eyes, silky and thick bronze curls, and my perfect figure. But I was nothing compared to my vampire aunts and mom: Alice, Rosalie, and Bella.

Edward gave me a look — he hated when I downgraded myself like that — and I smiled sheepishly. Hey, I couldn't control my thoughts all the time.

"Come on, Ness! You got to go get ready for school if you don't want to be late," my tiny aunt Alice called from another room. I grimaced. There was no doubt that Auntie Alice picked out an outfit for me, assembled from the most expensive designer clothes. As if I needed that for my first day of high school.

Dad leaned into me and whispered, "She probably did, that crazy Aunt of yours. We need to control her sometime or she'll continue this reign of horror."

"I heard that!" her angelic voice rang out.

"You were supposed to!" he retorted back. I merely giggled and clutched my Jake to me tighter while Mom just sighed.

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In a few minutes, I was on the back of Jake's red Harley bike, my arms wrapped around his waist. It took forever to convince my parents to let me go to school on a motorcycle; at first I wanted to drive my own bike. But I compromised with the deal that I could ride to school, as long as Jake was the one driving. Alice was opposed as well, but only for the reason that my hair would be messed up, to which I rebuked by saying that it would enhance my look with the windblown effect. She bought it.

I let out a sigh and buried my face in Jake's back. Though I knew he heard me, he did not act like he did which made me grateful. I was too deep in thought about my first day of school. Ever.

Despite the fact that I had been able to control myself for the past six or so years, I had been unable to go to school until now, when my growing has finally slowed enough to be nearly unnoticeable. My real age was six, but my mind was of a college-educated and my body looked in its high-teens, clearly able to pull off being a sophomore in school. I could have pulled off being a freshman, but I refused to be separated from Jake, including different grades, and he barely could be passed as a high school-er, let alone a freshman. So I was registered as a sophomore in Washington High School, attending my first day in the middle of the year. Jake would be a sophomore with me, Mom, Dad, and Alice would be juniors, and Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie would be seniors. It made me feel better that nearly my whole family would be there with me.

I felt a little guilty about one thing, however. Taking Jake away from his pack in Forks. Though he can easily visit them anytime, it wasn't the same as being able to be around them all the time. I knew he missed his pack, especially Quil and Embry (who were now under the charge of Sam once more), but he claimed that he would miss me more if he stayed. He would even joke that he's glad to be rid of the pressure of having to lead a pack. He was such a sweetheart and my one best friend.

We arrived at the school, screeching to a halt in a parking spot. Dad's silver Volvo neatly parked next to us and Emmett's green monster Jeep stopped next to him. I quickly dismounted the bike and straightened my clothes nervously. After a brief moment of disagreement, Alice convinced me into wearing her picked-out outfit: a pink, sequined tank top with a short miniskirt and black, high-heeled boots. I also wore a feminine leather jacket for show; after all, I did not get cold. I carried a Prada purse with me and a designer backpack.

The forecast was currently cloudy—as it was nearly 95% of the time in this little town in Washington State, just a whiles away from Forks—and the diluted sunlight leeched off some of the brilliant colors direct light would bring. Of course, I did not have to worry as much about it being cloudy or not; neither did Jake for that matter. My skin merely looked more radiant in the sunlight, just a faint and subtle luminosity, unlike the rest of my family.

Jake turned off the engine and came to stand next to me as Dad, Mom, Alice, and Jasper floated out of the Volvo and Emmett and Rosalie emerged effortlessly from the Jeep. They all placed themselves strategically around me, their way of telling me that I was protected. Giving them all a smile, I led the way to the front doors, Jake right next to me and everyone else trailing behind.

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**A/N:** What do you think? Should I continue posting?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey! Thanks to the few who read the first chapter! Thanks even more to the couple who subscribed to it! And even MORE thanks to the one person who left me a review! ;D

Here's the first half of Ness's first day at school. She meets some intriguing characters and is exposed to the world of humans.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two**

As we walked past, heads turned, mouths dropped, and eyes stared. I looked down, embarrassed, until Jake put a comforting arm around me. I felt Dad tense behind me then heard Mom whisper reassuringly so softly and quickly that even I had a hard time of understanding. I wasn't quite sure what Dad's problem was with Jake and my friendship. But he always seemed so disgruntled whenever Jake hugged me or had any physical contact with me. Don't know what his problem is — we're just friends after all.

Dad snorted lightly behind me. Briefly I wondered whose thoughts he was reading but was distracted when we reached the front office. I could feel the additional weight of my family's gazes combining with the stares of my peers. Ignoring them, I marched into the small room, head held high.

The kind-looking lady sitting at the front desk glanced upward at the sound of a small ringing bell that sounded when the door opened. She seemed initially surprised and taken aback at the appearance of my family but quickly recovered.

"She's a human," Dad muttered too softly for mortal beings to hear. "They all react like this when they first see us. Be prepared." I moved my head a minute amount down then up quickly. The only humans I really had much contact with were Grandpa, Sue, Billy, and some people at the mall. But my family prepared me well for my coming to school by giving me tips and advice.

The human lady did not notice our exchange as she welcomed us.

"Hello there," she smiled benignly. "I'm Ms. Jackson. You all must be the new students."

"Yes, that is correct," Dad replied smoothly, stepping forward as our spokesperson. Ms. Jackson's eyes widened as they swept over his face and her breathing caught. My brow furrowed in confusion. Why was she acting so strangely to Daddy?

"It's because vampires are so beautiful compared to humans, especially Daddy. So be prepared for when humans act like this, particularly when they first meet you," Mom whispered in vampire-speed.

I reached out to touch the back of her hand lightly and showed her an image of me next to her in the sunlight; I only glimmered faintly while she sparkled like a million diamonds.

"You have enough vampire genes in you that you'll take boys' breaths away," she replied softly, instantly understanding my meaning under my thoughts.

I frowned a little. Me? Beautiful? As soon as I thought those words, I saw Dad twitch a little but he couldn't chastise me for my belittling thoughts as he was still speaking to Ms. Jackson.

"My name is Edward Cullen. These are my siblings, Renesmee, Alice, and Emmett Cullen. This is Jasper and Rosalie Hale. And that's Bella and Jacob Black." He swiftly introduced us all and I tried to keep the surprise off my face at the sound of all these made up relations. All the "Cullens" were to be adopted by Carlisle and Esme, the "Hales" were siblings who lived with the Cullens, and Bella and Jacob were cousins and close family friends with the Cullens, also living with them. So complex. I hoped that I wouldn't slip and make a mistake.

Ms. Jackson quickly handed out our schedules and maps to the school. "Sophomores Jacob Black and Renesmee Cullen." I received my schedule and was relieved to see that I had some classes with Jake. Sadly, not all of them were the same. "Juniors Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, and Bella Black. Seniors Jasper Hale, Rosalie Hale, and Emmett Cullen. There you go. Enjoy your first day of school at Washington High and if you have any questions, feel free to stop by." She gave us a quick smile that faltered when we all smiled back breathtakingly, her heartbeat stuttering.

After a quick thanks, we left the office to stop by our lockers where our books would be, then to head off to our next class.

"Humans are so strange," I muttered. I heard a collection of agreement behind me.

"You'll get used to it," Emmett said under his breath. "Just try and act human, too. Alright, kiddo?" He mussed my hair and stalked off to the senior hallway of lockers, grinning at the glares Alice was sending him and ignoring the threats she snarled under her breath about touching a girl's hair again. Rosalie and Jasper followed after him after giving me a quick hug and kiss.

"I swear, one of these days," Alice muttered before turning to me. "Have a great day, dear. I wish I could see your future, but the little I can get tells me you'll have a great day." Smiling, she pulled me into a hug. My parents claimed me after her as she danced off to the junior hallway.

"Good luck, 'little sister'," Dad said before he and Mom left, hand in hand. I watched my family disperse to different parts of the school and immediately felt alone. Well, not completely alone. I glanced around at all the eyes still glued to me and Jake. What are these humans' problems?

"Ignore them," Jake said, watching my face as I took in all the gazes. "Come on, Bud, let's check out our lockers. And we have English first hour, which I know you love." I grinned at him, taking his offered hand and following him to the lockers. His was only a few lockers away from mine, so it wasn't so bad. While stuffing my English supplies into my backpack, I took Jacob's advice and tried to disregard all the turned heads and whispers that followed me. As if I couldn't hear. Ha! But at least their words weren't as hurtful as those from my dream… yet.

"Is that the new kid?"

"What's her name?"

"She's so pretty!"

"Rene—what?"

"What an interesting name!"

"Who's she?"

"I wonder if I have any classes with her."

"Ready to go?"

I turned to the last voice, a comfortingly familiar one, and smiled at Jake. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with."

Leading the way, he took my hand again as we headed towards the English wing. The whispers and seeds of gossip trailed along, particularly about what Jake's and my relationship was. I chuckled at the thought of Jake and I together and simply shook my head at his curious look. I just couldn't imagine Jake being anything other than my best friend. I loved him in the most brotherly way possible.

When we reached the doorway of my first classroom ever, Jake dropped my hand and motioned for me to go first, a huge grin on his face. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.

My eyes swept around the room and I felt myself relaxing. The huge windows on one wall gave the room a more open feel and the other walls were cluttered with posters of literature. Desks were stationed in neat rows and columns — nearly all of them had a student sitting at them — and a white-board at the front of the room, behind the teacher's desk.

A scholarly man sat at the desk, scrawling a huge red B on a paper, and looked up when we entered. Smiling kindly, he introduced himself as Mr. Reed and told us to sit wherever there was an empty seat. Glancing around shyly, I saw how nearly all eyes were on me — again — while a few were staring openmouthed at Jake. Sadly, there weren't two open seats next to each other — the only ones left were at opposite sides of the classroom — so I sat next to a girl who wasn't staring at me so much. Hopefully she was nice. Jake took his seat and shot me a glance that told me that he wished he was sitting next to me, too.

The hour went by fast. They were in the middle of reading a book, _The Scarlet Letter_, which was good since I had already read this book multiple times. Thus I wasn't so far behind having come in the middle of the semester.

The humans acted sort of strangely. But my opinion doesn't count for much, I guess, since I haven't been around mortals much. None of them really talked to me, preferring to just stare at me from a distance. One or two even looked a little disconcerted with my presence though they didn't seem to know why. I guess I should have expected something like that since I was half vampire. But the most stares I got were ones that had a tinge of… awe. Maybe I was reading their expressions wrong though. After all, I hadn't had the most experience at this.

So the humans didn't talk to me and I only saw it fair that I do the same; I kept to myself, head and eyes aimed downward. I tried to disregard the many eyes on me, thankful that Mr. Reed didn't pick on me much because of my "new student" status. My fears from my dream almost seemed alive; it was obvious that these kids thought I was a freak (and I tried not to think that I WAS a freak thought that phrase kept running through my head).

I did glance over at Jacob a few times and his dark and anxious eyes were always on me, completely ignoring the girls around him trying to catch his attention (they were pathetic, really. Tittering and giggling and batting their eyelashes at him. Staring openmouthed with drool dripping off their chin. It was as if they had never seen a boy before. Pathetic. And no, I was NOT jealous. Just looking out for my best friend. Right?). Whenever I caught his gaze, he would smile at me comfortingly, making me feel better immediately. My Jacob.

Finally the bell rang. Thank god. The tension was killing me, and I was ready to be out of here. Gathering my books, I got up and found my pathway blocked by a huge, muscular guy who reminded me distinctly of Emmett. With his dark hair swept into his appraising eyes, he lounged with one bronzed hand braced against a nearby desk and watched me with a cocky grin on his full lips. He could've passed for a star football player. I took a step back, immediately feeling nervous.

"Hey. You must be Renesmee, the new girl," he said and his deep, bass voice caressed my name gently. My heart skipped a beat. Okay, I had to admit, he was gorgeous. Even if he scared me a little bit.

This was the closest a human had ever been since I got here, and as his intriguing scent washed over me, I had to keep from biting him. But my self control rivaled Carlisle's and so I merely smiled at him, baring my sharp, white teeth.

"Yeah, that's me," I said in my clear voice that my dad often said sounded like an angel's chorus. Silly dad.

His grin grew wider. "Well, welcome to Washington High, Renesmee. My name's Derek. Derek Coles." He held out a tan hand which I shook gratefully. At least someone was talking to me. Then, grinning playfully, he lifted my hand to lips and brushed a soft kiss upon it. A tingle ran down my back. Holding my gaze in his startling blue eyes, he asked softly, "Care to let me walk you to your next class, O fair one?"

Before I could reply or smile or giggle, another deep voice cut across.

"Sorry to interrupt, but there's no need for that. We both have the same next class, so you can get on your way," Jake growled, his hands shaking slightly.

Derek turned towards the voice and found himself staring into the chest of a huge guy. Trailing his gaze upward, he took in a sharp breath at the guy's blazing eyes. Looking intimidated, he stuttered, "Um, s-sorry. I'd better get to class anyway. See you later, Renesmee."

"Bye Derek," I said, but he was already gone, gathering his books and racing out of the room. I sighed.

"Oh, I'm sorry for being so protective, Nessie, but I don't like that guy. He looks like he just wants to eat you up," Jacob admitted, pulling me into a hug. "Sorry."

"Aw, it's alright Jake. Can't stay mad at you for long." I pressed my hand to his arm, showing a picture of Derek running away. "Anyway, he's probably still running," I laughed and glanced up to see a grin playing on his lips. Grinning as well, I took his hand and tugged him towards the door. "Come on, let's go to Chemistry."

In Chemistry, Mr. Martin made us split up as well. He usually let the class sit where they wanted with whomever they wanted; however, he didn't want two new kids to be partners so gave us to Chemistry 'veterans'. At least our blacktop science desks were next to each other.

My partner was a kind-looking girl with straight black hair and dark green eyes. She seemed shy and quickly mumbled that her name was Rachel Wender and gave me a soft smile. But we didn't have much of a chance to talk more as today was movie day and spent the day watching GATTACA.

Jacob, ironically, had to sit next to that guy who talked to me in English, Derek. He sat in a rigid posture, jaw clenched and fists tight. On the other hand, Derek seemed to have gotten over his initial shock over Jake's sheer height and ferocity, and decided that he wasn't a threat. He spent the whole hour with his chair balancing on two legs, sending me winks every now and then. Curse my blushing. It was at times like this that I wished that I was a full vampire.

Nobody else, spare Jacob, Rachel, and Derek, acknowledged me — other than the occasional stare. It was at times like this that I wished I was a full human.

Third hour was Art for me, but Jake had Sport Skills. If it was up to either of us, we would've taken the same class, but Mom and Dad suggested that we take classes that interested us instead. I liked Art immensely; just letting the creativity flow freely as my wrist flicked across the padded paper, forming intricate designs with the slim paintbrush. Also, more people got the courage to come and talk to me; even if it was just to say their name. Maybe it was just Jake's intimidating presence that kept the humans from speaking to me earlier. Or maybe they were just getting used to my strangeness.

Either way, a tall girl with cropped dirty-blonde hair introduced herself as Sophie Langston and sat next to me (thrilling!). In the middle of the hour, a boy with brunette hair and cute dimples walked past on his way to the sink and paused next to my desk, commenting on my artwork. He gave me his name as well; Kevin Quinn. When he walked away, Sophie giggled and muttered to me how 'hot' he was. And at the end of the hour, while we were all washing out our brushes of the paint at the sink, the rainbow of colors streaming into the drain, a boy with dark skin welcomed me to Washington High, calling himself Jay Dalton.

I was beaming brightly when I walked out of the art room, nearly skipping to my Creative Writing class. I knew I wouldn't meet Jacob since his third and fourth hour were both held at the opposite side of the school.

Kevin had offered to walk with me to my next class since he also had Creative Writing and I consented gratefully, glad that the humans seemed to be accepting me.

I never realized how talkative a human can be. The ones I have met so far seemed so shy and withdrawn (well, Derek not so much, but even he didn't babble like this). But Kevin's chattiness exploded on me once we stepped out into the hallway. He talked about everything, especially about art and writing. I argued playfully with him on the finer points of sketching and found that I was enjoying his presence. He just radiated excitement, and though I was no Jasper, I felt it burning into my moods as well.

I was laughing at a joke he told me when I realized he had fallen silent. Turning to him, I raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing his expression. He looked… nervous.

"What is it, Kevin?" Did he notice my weirdness? Was he going to tell me that it was a mistake walking me to class and never wanted to see me again? Was he going to run screaming that I was a monster? I repelled the shudder that threatened to shake my form and turned towards him.

"It's… nothing." My brows rose higher and he chucked lightly at my expression. "Nothing. Really."

I shrugged and turned back to the front. "Alright."

We were quiet now as we neared out destination.

"Can I ask you something a little… personal?" Kevin suddenly asked.

"Sure," I said on reaction, slightly surprised.

"That big guy you were with in the hallways before, who seems so protective of you—"

"Jacob."

"Yeah, him. Um, are you two… like… uh…"

I caught his gist and laughed. "Oh, no, we're not together in that sense. He's my best friend, that's all."

"Oh," he sighed, seeming relieved and grinned at me. "Right."

We had walked a few more steps before he asked me about my family and the rest of the people I moved here with from Forks.

"Well, there's Carlisle and Esme who are my adoptive parents. Then there's me and my blood brothers Edward and Emmett. Then Alice was adopted by Carlisle and Esme. Jasper and Rosalie are siblings who came to us next. They just live with us. And finally, Jake and Bella are cousins and close family friends."

"Why'd you guys move here?"

"Carlisle is a doctor and he got a job offer here, so yeah. Here we are." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"And… Jacob? Why did he come with you guys?"

I smiled a little at his continuous curiosity about Jacob. "Jake came because he's almost like family to us. He basically lives with us, and he's my best friend and a great family friend. Plus, Edward and Bella are together and couldn't bear being apart." I grinned at the truthfulness behind that statement. "So Jake came with Bella, in a way."

"Edward and Bella are together? Are they the bronze-haired guy and the girl with long, dark hair?"

"Yup, that's them."

"What about the rest of them?"

"What about them?" I asked, slightly confused.

He flushed. "Well, are they together with anyone, or…" He trailed off, looking flustered.

Chuckling at his embarrassment, I filled him in. "Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, Bella and Edward."

"What about you?"

"Nope."

"Jacob?"

I felt a twinge of emotion at the thought of Jake with a girl, but I couldn't place what it was. "Nope."

We finally reached the classroom. As we walked in, my eyes were immediately drawn to Mom and Dad sitting in a corner, watching me come in. I forgot that they were taking this class as well. Mom smiled at me as I headed towards them, but Dad's narrowed eyes were on Kevin. Kevin fidgeted under my father's glare.

"Um, well, I'll go sit over here. See you, Renesmee."

"Bye, Kevin."

I watched Kevin take the furthest possible seat away from us. Hm, looks like humans were intimidated by full vampires, even more so than they were of me or Jacob.

"As they should be," Edward muttered under his breath to me, still eying Kevin. I grinned.

"Geez, Dad, what's wrong? You look like you're about to pounce on Kevin. Does his blood smell as good as Mom's did when she was human?" I joked and I touched his hand to send him a picture of what he looked like to enhance what he could already read in my mind: tight jaw, deadly eyes glaring, radiating danger. I heard their story of how they met millions of times.

"No," he gritted. "I just don't like his thoughts very much. They way he thinks about you…" Edward trailed off, his teeth clenched. "Great job keeping up appearances though, Ness. You're doing wonderfully."

"Thanks, Dad."

Mom took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. But my attention was caught by another figure walking into the room — more of strutted in than anything else.

"Derek?" I said in surprise. I never took him as a writing-guy. He turned towards my voice and grinned widely. He froze in place at the sight of my parents but recovered quickly.

"Hey, Renesmee. What's shakin'?"

I shrugged again and he laughed.

"So who's this?" he said, gesturing towards my statue-like parents.

"Oh, this is Edward, my da—brother, and Bella, his girlfriend and my close friend."

"Hey dude and dudette. Welcome to Washington High." Derek stretched out a hand to Dad, but Dad merely forced a small smile at him. Derek dropped his hand, looking awkward. "So…"

"So. I didn't think of you as the creative one. Just more of a hands-on type of guy," I mused.

Derek grinned widely and I saw Dad tense out of the corner of my eye. "I can be extremely hands on if you prefer that. Catch my meaning?" He winked at me, and I swore Dad was ready to lunge at him. Thankfully the bell rang then, signaling the beginning of class hour.

"I don't like that Coles kid at all," Dad muttered, glaring at the back of the head of Derek. Mom just laid a hand on his and he relaxed immediately. Strangely, I saw Kevin give Derek the exact same look as my father did. Huh. Weird.

As the final bell rang, releasing us for lunch, Derek approached me again, inviting me to sit with him and his football buddies at lunch (football; totally called it).

"Ah, sorry, Derek," I apologized while watching Dad out of the corner of my eye. "I'm sitting with my family today." And I don't want my dad to rip your throat out, I added silently. I saw Dad's lips curve up.

"Oh, rejection!" he clutched at his heart dramatically, causing me to giggle. "The pain!" He straightened up with a twinkle in his eye. Winking at me once more, he sauntered out with a wave. How did I ever find him frightening? The notion amused me now.

Now lunch seemed like it would be an interesting affair. Being in an enclosed room filled to the brim with humans while we tried to ignore their blood. My family pretending to eat while Jake and I actually ate (gag!) human food. And I found that I wasn't surprised.

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**A/N: **So here's the second chapter! If you know of this from TNTTS or perhaps even NING, just know that I am editing some stuff, putting chapters together, etc.

A semi-cliffie. How do you think Ness's first day of lunch at school will go? How about the rest of her first day at school?

And this Derek character... ;) 'Nuff said.

Tell me what you thought about the first half of her first day at school!

**Please read and review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thanks to all my readers, viewers, etc, etc. You all rock my socks off! =)

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**Chapter 3**

Lunch was... interesting. We all sat together at an isolated table away from the other humans (Uncle Jasper still had a little problem controlling his thirst and some of the others did as well). All the vampires had trays of food with them — props — while Jake and I had food with us to actually eat. Jake shoveled pizza into his mouth hungrily while I nibbled on an apple, one of the few human foods that I liked. I still preferred to hunt if possible.

As soon as I had spotted Jake after fourth hour, he had pulled me into a hug, muttering something about phasing on any boy that looked at me again. He was so overprotective sometimes. But, as I burrowed my nose into his chest to take in his heady scent, I realized that I didn't mind it too much.

While we sat at our table, talking and laughing to keep up appearances as eyes were constantly drawn to us, I saw Kevin heading towards us. I smiled and started to wave, but he changed his direction abruptly and headed the other way. Hurt, I glanced at my family and saw the reason behind his strange behavior.

Jacob's fists were clenched so the knuckles showed white and his eyes were narrowed and dark with hatred. I actually leaned away from him unconsciously in shock; he was _that_ scary. My father had nearly the same expression on his face though not as extreme. I had to smile a bit at their overprotectiveness.

"Come on, Jake, Dad. People are staring at you even more than usual," I muttered lightly, nudging Jake with my elbow and kicking Dad under the table.

"These humans, these boys," Dad snarled between his teeth, "keep tempting my self control. I wish I could rip out their minds so they never think these thoughts again."

"Aw, Dad, how bad can it be?" I groaned, exasperatedly, rolling my eyes.

His teeth clenched. "They fantasize about us, about _you_ in particular since you don't trigger their instinctive fear of vampires."

I was briefly shocked; they were fantasizing about _me_ and not my beautiful and perfect vampire mom and aunts?

"Yes," Dad hissed, his eyes darting to each of the perpetrators. "You." Without taking his eyes off them, he continued to explain his theory. "Because you are half-vampire and half-human, you are more appealing to others. Even when you were a small child, we had a hard time taking you anywhere public because you would draw crowds from miles away."

I rolled my eyes at the exaggeration. I knew the only reason I attracted that much attention when I was younger was because every living thing is drawn to child-like vampires. Much like the Immortal Children my family once told me about.

"What about that Kevin Quinn boy?" Mom asked. "Why was he headed over here before you two scared him off?"

"He was going to ask you to sit with him and his friends," Dad answered, and I felt Jake tense beside me.

"That's not bad," I replied and Jake looked at me incredulously. "What I meant was, there's no need for you two to act like that against him."

"His mind was drifting, too, Ness," Jake gritted out.

"Oh." I paused then turned to Jake to put my hand on his and sent him a picture of his face with the unasked question clear: how did he know what the human boys were thinking?

"I can see the lust in their faces, Ness. And that one guy's face was pretty clear on his intentions."

I frowned, still not believing that I was the most interesting out of the rest of my family.

Dad looked like he was about to say something, probably about my thoughts, but was cut off by Alice.

"Stop fighting, guys. I'm trying to see around Nessie and Jacob, and I can tell that nothing's going to happen anytime soon. Let's calm down. The humans are getting suspicious," she trilled quickly as she picked at her food to maintain the aura of normalcy as much as she could.

We all felt ourselves relax and the tension lessoned. Jasper.

"So," Emmett said, trying to make light of things, "what else is on these humans minds?"

"Just us. All revolving around us," Dad answered quickly, looking far more relaxed but still glancing around the cafeteria suspiciously.

"Any suspicions?" Rose asked, not seeming very interested in the answer either way.

"Not that I can hear."

Alice got up and flitted to the trashcan with Jasper by her side to dump her tray right as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period.

"Nessie," Dad called just as I was about to get up. I turned towards my father and saw him gazing above my head at the humans. "I'd tell you to stay away from them, but I don't think you'll listen. So I'll just say be careful. Don't let your guard down."

"I second that motion," Jake muttered. "And I'll rip apart anyone that even thinks of hurting you in any way."

"Come on, boys," Rose interrupted as I was about to speak. "Let the girl be." She turned to me and kissed the top of my head tenderly. "Bye, Nessie, sweetie. Enjoy the rest of your day." Then she gracefully strode out after Emmett who just winked at me.

I hugged Mom and Dad then turned to snuggle into Jake's warm chest. "Don't worry about me. Like you said, I could take on the whole school in a rumble and win," I murmured with a sigh, enjoying the feeling of his warm arms around me.

"I'll be listening," Dad said, placing a hand on my head before departing with my mother.

Jake squeezed me once more then sighed and let me go except for one hand. "C'mon Ness, let's go to Pre-calc."

Pre-calculus was a breeze for me though it was supposedly advanced for my grade. I had already done all this since I was three years old. The rest of my school day was much like the first half; the kids spoke to me if Jake wasn't in my class, but if he was, they strictly stayed away. The only exception was a few of my newly made friends. I was glad to see that Rachel from Chem, Derek from English, and Sophie, Kevin, and Jay from Art were in a few more of my classes. I did make more friends, which excited me.

After school, Kevin invited me to hang out with a group of friends, but I didn't think it was a good idea to test Jake's temper (he was so protective today), so I declined. He looked a little downtrodden, but I just brushed that thought aside.

It was raining when school let out; everyone was hurrying to get to their cars but I stood in the middle of the torrent alone, my face raised towards the heavens and arms outstretched. I loved the feeling of the miniscule drops pounding against my granite skin. I was alone because my seventh hour was empty of my family, even Jake.

I felt two hands wrap around my already-closed eyes and the strong scent of human and rain filled my nostrils. Jerking away from the touch, I turned to face the hulking form of Derek grinning down at me, his dark hair dripping. His human scent was amplified by the smell of the rain; vemon trickled into my mouth, but I quickly swallowed it. In the back of my mind, I appreciated what the wet look did for him.

"Hey there, new girl. How was your first day?"

I took a step back to put more space between us and merely shrugged. I cringed slightly when he reached out and trailed his forefinger gently on my cheek, racing a raindrop to my chin. When I took another step back away from him, he laughed, dropping his hand.

"You don't like physical contact much, do you?" he asked, eyes dancing with mirth. I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"No, I'm fine with contact," I replied truthfully. "You just surprised me."

Derek's eyes jerked up then to something I couldn't see behind me and I suddenly felt another pair of arms, this time warm ones, wrap around me. I instinctively relaxed into the familiar form and leaned into him.

"Hey, Ness," Jake murmured into my ear. "Sorry I kept you waiting in the rain."

I smiled and glanced up at him to see that his gaze was the opposite of his soft and warm voice: it was hard and cold as they locked onto Derek's. Derek's gaze flickered away from his face and settled on something to the right of me as he took a step back, eyes wide. I suddenly felt the presence of six cold forms standing around me protectively.

Derek's eyes seemed dazed as he took in a sharp breath, shaking himself from his reverie. "Um, see you tomorrow, Renesmee."

"Bye," I said but he was already turned around and walking away.

I pivoted to the right and smacked Dad on the arm. "Quit scaring my human friends!"

"I did nothing of the sort!" he defended himself but I caught the guilty look behind his innocent demeanor. "Anyways, you've known him for less than 24 hours. How do you know he's your friend?"

I sighed. "You guys, I'm trying to be somewhat normal here and I can't do that if you keep making vampire faces at the humans!" I turned to Jake. "Or werewolf faces!"

Mom walked towards me and put an arm around my shoulders. "I think you should let Ness be. She can protect herself." My gaze flickered to my mom's face and I smiled; I was sure she was defending me because she knew what it was like to be in my position, constantly being overprotected.

Jake sighed and draped an arm around me. "C'mon, let's go home," he said, steering me towards his bike.

After one long glare at my family, I got on the bike behind Jake and wrapped my arms around his waist once more.

* * *

"Checkmate."

I wrinkled my nose at Emmett, who had his celebratory huge grin of victory on his face. I briefly debated tackling him, but my dad gave me a look of disapproval, so I settled with flicking my king at his head. The little chess piece shattered upon impact, and I was satisfied to see him tumble back off his seat. Darting around the table to kneel next to him, I placed my hand on his cheek to fill his mind with a picture of me triumphantly on top of a sprawled Emmett. I dashed back to my seat as Jake howled with laughter beside me.

The sun was beginning to set; our homework had already been done for hours and we were now awaiting a new day to begin. It really sucked sometimes that I still succumbed to the bodily needs of sleep while the rest of my vampire family did not. I just took comfort in the fact that Jake had to sleep, too.

Carlisle was still at work; the nurses and orderlies already loved him, but that wasn't much of a surprise. I was still at awe at how he could be around sick, bleeding patients and not get thirsty, but I supposed that was what centuries of practice did for you.

Esme was flipping through an interior designer magazine at inhuman speed, occasionally pausing at a page to scrutinize it. We had brought most of our stuff with us from Forks, but seeing as how our house was now bigger than before, she jumped into the task of intricately designing our new home with excitement.

Mom and Dad were by the piano — Dad has been working on teaching Mom how to play; she's improving, but Edward still takes the cake in piano-playing — and he was now caressing the keys in Mom's lullaby. Mom's fingers were ghosting across his figure lovingly, so I turned away to give them some privacy. And because I didn't want to witness my mom feeling up my dad.

Alice was sketching a new line of clothes while cuddling with Jasper on the couch; he had been watching our chess match before it ended and was now commenting on her designs as he rubbed the back of her neck. I turned from them just as she twisted her head to kiss him firmly on the lips.

Rosalie was helping Emmett up from his tumble, trying to keep the smirk off her face; she had been watching the game, too. She had been silently rooting for me behind Emmett's back, to my pleasure. Too bad Alice or Dad didn't feel like surrepticiously helping me because then I surely would have won then. Emmett shot me a glare, ready to pounce on me, but thankfully Rose quickly diverted his attention by giving him a congratulatory kiss. That would distract him for hours.

I glanced at the clock and sighed. I still had a few hours before I would crash, and I didn't really want to stay here if everyone was going to be all lovey-dovey. I suddenly thought of an idea, jolting up. Turning to Jacob, who raised his eyebrows at my sudden excitement, I pressed my hand to his cheek, my favorite method of communicating. He saw the picture of him in his wolf form and me darting around the trees after some unidentified animal and grinned.

"You want to go hunting, Nessie?" he asked excitedly.

I nodded and looked at my parents who paused on the piano. Dad looked a little hesitant, but Mom just nudged him and nodded to me, giving me the go ahead. I loved that my mom was more willing to let me hang out with Jacob than she was during my first year. She seemed to give into the inevitable that Jake and I were a package deal. Dad, on the other hand, still struggled with the notion of our friendship. Typical that he would still have that human dad trait. As I leapt from my seat towards the front door, Alice called out behind us playfully, "Ness is going to catch the biggest elk so don't even bother, mongrel!"

Jake tore off his shirt so that he wouldn't have to deal with the extra clothing when he phased as I waited in the doorway. I averted my eyes, trying not to stare at his smooth chest. An unfamiliar tingling feeling twisted in my stomach. He was just so beautiful. His russet skin, each outline of the hard muscles in his chest and abdominals, that happy trail that ran into the depths of his shorts.... I restrained a blush at where my train of thought was going and the inappropriateness of thinking about my best friend like that.

Hoping Dad wouldn't mention it to anyone, I didn't even wait for Jake to come by my side before I darted outside, crying out, "Race you there, Jake!" There was a brief twinkling in his eyes at the challenge as he lunged after me.

Jake and I raced into the woods, but I had the advantage since he wasn't in his wolf form so I eased up. Once we reached a little clearing, Jake ducked behind some bushes to phase, already tugging his shorts off as he disappeared. I paused a second before a huge russet colored wolf lunged at me. Giggling, I side-stepped his attacked easily and crouched into a lunge. Just as he landed where I was a millisecond ago, I pounced on his back, wrapping my arms around his furry neck and placing my lips on his jugular.

"I win," I declared quietly into his ear and, grinning, I hopped off. Jake the wolf gave me a look and rolled his eyes, as if saying that he let me win. I laughed. "You wish." I reached out a hand to bury into his thick coat to give him a picture of me taking down the biggest elk. "Let's hunt."

We both took off into the forest, letting our senses take over. I caught a whiff of something and pivoted to the right. From my peripheral vision, I saw Jake turn and follow me as well. I raced towards the scent, dodging trees and boulders effortlessly. Jake was gaining on me (he always went easy on me; he could totally beat me in a race any day in his wolf form) so I pushed my body harder until I reached the top of the hill. I caught sight of the small herd of elk then and zoning onto the biggest one, I lunged.

The poor creature didn't even have the time to flinch as I lightly landed on his back and buried my teeth into his neck, snapping it instantly. I was vaguely aware of a huge wolf jumping on a nearby elk and taking him down. I grimaced and tried not to think about animal blood as I drained the body; I had to be weaned off of human blood when I was about a year old since, at that rate, I would rid of all the donated blood supply in the state that was needed for humans. Once I learned that dying humans needed the blood to live, I switched to animal blood fully and willingly. I still preferred carnivores to herbivores, but food was food. And I would take an elk over human food anyday.

When I got off the carcass, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand, Jake was cleaning his muzzle in the dewy grass. I walked over to him, smug, as I showed him a picture of my elk then his; mine was obviously bigger. He play-growled at me then head-butted me so I fell down.

"Jake!" I cried out while he coughed up a laugh. He walked over to me and flopped onto his belly, looking pointedly at me then twisting his head to point his nose at his back. Confused, I pressed my hand on his head, sending him a vision of my riding on his back tinged with uncertainty. At his vigorous nod, I complied.

Swinging my leg over his back, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face into his soft fur. When he got up, I tightened my grip. He jolted forward and I lifted my face to feel the wind slapping at my hair. A surprised laugh escaped my lips as I watched the trees dart past. Jake bounded up a huge hill, his giant paws thudding softly against the dirt, and I felt him slowing. He reached the top of the hill and stopped, dropping back to his stomach. I got off his back, still grinning widely from that amazing experience then watched bemusedly as Jake trotted off behind a tree.

"Jake!" I called out. "Where are you going?"

He reappeared as a human, adjusting his shorts and grinning at me. I forced myself to look just at his face, determined not to stare."C'mon, Ness, up you go."

"Up… where?" I asked, bewildered.

He pointed up the gigantic tree that dominated the crest of the hill. "Up there."

My gaze trailed up the length of the tree and my lips pursed. "You want me to climb up the tree?"

A wide grin split his face, and I felt the answering smile on my own lips. "Race you to the top!" he laughed, lunging at the tree and weaving his way up.

"Hey!" I cried out before following in pursuit. Instead of aiming at the trunk like Jacob was, I lightly landed on the outermost branches, hopping from branch to branch so quickly it had no time to bend to my weight.

We both reached the top at the same time, laughing and each claiming victor. We collapsed against each other, leaning on the trunk of the tree. One arm was protectively wrapped around my shoulders to keep me from falling out of the tree by accident. I had one hand braced against his burning chest in an effort to keep upright as I laughed, trying to catch my breath.

"Okay," I said once I could form coherent words, "what was that for?"

"So you can see this." Jake pointed at the sky. From below, it was unnoticeable that the sun neared the horizon, but here at the top of the tree, the sky dominated, expanding from corner to corner. Midnight blue slowly transitioned into an array of colors until it reached the western edge where the bright white globe slowly made its way below sight. I could easily pick out every single color of the rainbow from the sunset.

"Oh," I breathed, leaning into him to rest my cheek against his bare chest, gazing out towards the sunset. "Jake, it's beautiful."

"Like you," he murmured into my ear, tightening his grip on me.

I blushed and shoved at him. Gently, of course. I didn't want him to fall out of the tree, especially since he still had his arm around me. "Shut up." I grew very aware of my hand still flush against his chest and slowly extracted it unwillingly so that I was just lightly touching him. I still kept my head rested against him, however, trying to ignore the light fluttering in my tummy.

We both fell quiet as we watched the sun's journey down. A warm hand suddenly engulfed mine that was resting against his chest, and I flushed as I realized that I had been lightly tracing patterns onto his skin with my finger. My hand stilled under his, twining our fingers together. A soft smile crossed my face as I kept my head down, determined not to look up at him. I didn't want him to see how much this affected me. It was a comfortable silence now.

Finally, the sun was no longer visible. Sighing, I pulled myself away from Jake's warmth and got back up, balancing on a thin branch. "So... how do we get down?" I asked as I cautiously glanced back down. My stomach dropped at the sight of how far up we were, a silly human fear. The drop wouldn't hurt me.

"Um...." He looked sheepish. "I hadn't thought that far actually."

Laughing — that was totally what Jake would do — I glanced down and estimated that it was maybe 90 to 100 feet from the ground. "I know. Let's jump."

"Wha—?!"

Before he could finish, I jumped off, laughing wildly from adrenaline. The fall down was mind-numbing with the wind deafening my ears and whipping at my dark curls. I spread my limps wide so the air friction would slow me down slightly as I watched the ground getting larger until I touched down in the forest floor, crouched on all fours to spread impact. There was a dull thud and I felt the ground give way slightly under my hands and feet and the trees shuddered. I glanced up to see Jake hopping down from tree to tree. His face was screwed up in concentration. I held back my laugh until he reached the floor, landing with a light thump.

"Don't... do that... again," he panted, eyes filled with anxiety. "You scared me half to death."

"Aw, Jake, you know I'm indestructible," I said, placing a comforting hand on his arm. I was breathing heavily from excitement. Watching Jake calm back down, I felt my heartbeat lower to my normal tempo and my breathing steadied. I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion as my adrenaline faded completely. Teetering back, Jake steadied me quickly, eyes radiating worry. "'M okay," I muttered, burying my face into his warm chest. He gently picked me up, and I snuggled into his warmth, inhaling his lethargic, woody smell. My eyes fluttered close, my last vision Jake cradling me anxiously. "Sleepy," I muttered before falling fast asleep.

* * *

When I woke up, it was still dark out but as I glanced out the window, I detected that the sky looked a shade lighter than it was at midnight, a dusky midnight blue color. I estimated that I had about an hour before having to get ready for my second day of school. Stretching like a cat, I was about to get up when I heard a glimmer of voices below me on the main floor. I strained my ears until I could make out a few words.

"Nessie still asleep?" Mom's voice drifted up the stairs.

"Yeah," Rose murmured back. "Dumb mongrel for exhausting her like that. Climbing trees and jumping off them! Trying to kill her, I think."

"Rose," Alice warned, "he wasn't trying to harm anyone. She had a tiring day at school and was probably already exhausted even before going hunting. It was her idea to jump, too."

"Just like her mother, isn't she?" Emmett chuckled. Mom? What did he mean by that?

"I think Nessie's awake," Dad spoke then called up the stairs. "Honey, if you're awake, come join us."

Groaning softly, I hopped out of bed. Scrutinizing my clothes, I came to the conclusion that my parents changed me into my pajamas before placing me in bed. Wow, I really must've been tired to sleep through that. Yanking on a pair of jeans and a plain green t-shirt, I raced down the stairs before a second even passed.

"Morning, everyone," I called out nonchalantly. I had to rest their fears about me. I was fine.

"Morning, Ness."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock. Probably because of school," I hinted. Edward smiled at me, knowing I was listening into that part of the conversation. I figured the rest of them knew I was eavesdropping, so I continued, "And don't blame Jake. It was all my fault."

"That filthy dog is the one that brought you to the tree in the first place though," Rose snarled.

"Rose, come on. Be nice," I pleaded and I saw her expression soften as it landed on mine. She always had a soft spot for me. "So where is Jake?" I asked, looking around and only seeing my parents, Alice, Rose, and Emmett. "And Carlisle and Esme and Jasper?"

"Carlisle's at work again. Emergency call in the middle of the night. Esme and Jazz are hunting for a quick bite. And Jacob is still out." Alice pointed up to where his room was in the house. My gaze followed her and, right on schedule, a thundering snore shook the ceiling.

We all lived under one roof; it was a lot more convenient and easier then trying to explain to the humans why Mom was living with us while her supposed cousin Jake wasn't. In inventory, there was: seventy-two steps, fifty-six windows, forty-seven doorways, nineteen sinks (doubles are counted as two), twelve couches (some are in bedrooms), twelve cars (and counting), eleven bedrooms (one for each of us and a guest bedroom), eleven bathrooms, eleven closets, eleven beds, ten lab-tops, eight televisions, seven loveseats, four hot tubs, three floors, three computers, two grand pianos, two acres, two pools, one house, one attic, one basement, one kitchen, one living room, one family room, one game room, one party room, one gigantic garage, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, not a partridge because we probably would've eaten it by now. No joke.

All of our bedrooms were on the third floor. In order, it went from Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, Jacob, and me. Dad always joked that he'd always be listening for Jake.

As my gaze lingered on the place where Jacob's form would be, my lips curled up wickedly as a thought came to mind. I turned to Dad and he instantly saw what my idea was. His golden eyes sparkling with mirth, he nodded, holding back a laugh. I raced up the stairs in a flash, my bare feet padding on the floor soundlessly. I heard Alice ask, frustrated, about what I was up to (she was still bummed that she couldn't see werewolves though she was definitely working on it) and Dad's chuckling response.

Cracking open Jake's bedroom door a sliver, I peeked inside then silently threw the door open. He was sprawled on his king-sized bed, limbs tangled with sheets and pillows. His mouth lolled open as a rumbling snore ripped through the room. The warm, woody scent that was unique in this house assaulted my senses as I crept in. He was clad only in a pair of worn sweatpants, bare-chested as usual. It rose and fell in huge motions as his feet twitched in his sleep, much like a dog's. I vaguely wondered what he was dreaming about.

When I was a few feet away from the edge of the bed, I crouched then threw myself into the air in a graceful arc, twirling until I reached the crest then dive-bombed him. Cannonball.

I landed with a smack on his rock-hard stomach and he merely oomph-ed a little from impact. Damn wolf-genes messed up my fun. Cracking open one eye, he blearily searched for the source of his tumble back to earth until his gaze locked with my amused one. I sprawled on top of him, propping myself up on my elbows and bringing my face inches from his.

"Wakey wakey, Jakey," I crooned and was taken aback when he placed a big, sloppy kiss on my cheek. "Ew, Jacob!"

He grinned wolfishly at me and just wrapped his arms around me as I complained. "Your consequence for waking the wolf: You are now my prisoner." His arms tightened in an iron-like grip. As much as I struggled, I couldn't get loose.

"Jake," I complained before realizing he wasn't letting me go. I fell silent and stared him down, daring him to break eye contact. He didn't. After a few minutes, I became conscious of the fact that Jake was looking at me strangely, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Before I could place what emotion swam behind his dark eyes, he lurched up into a sitting position, taking me with him.

"I'm hungry," he announced and gathered me in his arms without looking me straight in the eye. Kicking the door open, he carried me like a baby to the kitchen where Dad was already preparing eggs, another one of my favorites. But as I was nibbling on the plate of food in front of me, my mind couldn't help but wander back to that strange emotion in Jake's eyes.

* * *

**A/N: **Whee!

What'd you guys think?

Just an FYI, Ness doesn't know that Jake imprinted on her yet. She just knows him to be her _really_ good friend. But that's starting to change a little bit. ;)

Sorry if it's slow; it'll pick up eventually. Haha. I'm just laying a baseline, I guess.

**Please read and review, loves! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thanks again to all my readers! And I promise it will eventually pick up soon! Haha. =)

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Chapter 4

When I woke up one morning, I suddenly sensed that something in the air had changed. Opening by sleep-weary eyes, I immediately realized what it was.

"It's snowing!" I cried out and hopped out of bed. I was at the window in a fraction of a second. Pressing my hands and nose to the window pane and beginning to fog it up with my body heat, I gazed at nature's transformation. Everything — the trees, road, grass, dirt, roofs, tops of cars — was blanketed by a thick layer of untouched snow. The paleness of the snow would have blinded me if I was a human, but with my special half-vamp eyes, I could see the semi-dullness of it. It was not nearly as bright as my family's skin in the sunlight.

Speaking of sunlight, there was another surprise awaiting us: the sun was shining brightly, reflecting down on the microscopic crystals of water. The one bad thing about this is that none of the pure-vampires can go to school with me. Carlisle and Esme told me before that I could skip school with my family if I wished, but Mom and Dad were a little reluctant because they wanted my first year of school to be as normal as possible. I quickly made up the decision to go to school today; after all, it's only been a few weeks since I started school and I didn't want to lose a moment of school. Or give my human 'friends' any chance to realize that I was a freak and that they didn't want to be friends anymore.

Interestingly enough (unlike the human students who constantly complained about going to school), I actually somewhat enjoyed it. Yes, it was boring at times. Yes, I already knew all the material. But that was nothing compared to feeling accepted by my peers.

Gradually, the humans got used to me and tried to befriend me, to my surprise. They would ask me to hang out with them after school or during weekends, sit with them during lunch, etc. The most insistent ones were the kids I met on my first day, particularly Derek, Kevin, Sophie, and Jay. Rachel, the quieter one, was not as persistent, which was nice to finally get a breather.

I did not want these humans to come to the conclusion that I was different from the others... too different. I did not want to come back the next day after skipping school to a scene like the one in my dreams. I was too insecure about myself.

I did reject every invitation they thrust at me, each time hoping it wasn't the last. One, because of my insecurity, I wasn't sure how the humans would react if they got a chance to be around me for extended periods of time (though my family and Jake repeatedly told me that I had no reason to worry; they were all infatuated with me). Two, I was unsure if I had the ability to control my vampire traits in front of them (though Alice constantly told me that nothing would happen if I left; but I wasn't certain if I could rely on her visions since I was still just a blur to her). And three, I had the inkling that Dad and Jacob would tear out the throats of any (male) human that I accepted an invitation to (though they refused to admit it). And the rest of my family was just as protective (though maybe not as extreme). Thus, it was lucky that their 'infatuation' with me did not fade.

Interestingly enough, the humans still avoided my vampire family members. I thought that they would have to fight off the hoards of people wanting friendship, but it seemed that it only played affect for me. I didn't know what the humans were thinking in their strange minds to decide that I was more fascinating then my family.

Jacob, however, was a little bit like me. Except for the fact that only girls pursued him. Giggling, drooling, flirting girls. Every time another one of them clawed at him, begging for attention, something inside me squeezed painfully and I felt the need to rip him away from all of them. He was _my_ Jacob. So it pleased me to see that every time, he would politely pull himself away from them. _My Jacob_.

As I continued to watch outside, mesmerized, a swirl of snowflakes swept past the window on its descent down. I felt the urge to try to catch all of them.

I loved winter; it was my favorite season, especially with games in the snow. Games became very interesting when played between vampires (or half vampires… or werewolves for that matter). I laughed, thinking of our last snow rendezvous. I would have to remember to ignite a snowball fight later tonight.

Changing quickly, I bounded down the stairs to the living room where most of my family were gathered.

Alice flitted to my side instantly. "I can see something about a snowball fight. Nice. I'm in." I grinned at her and her visions; she couldn't see me exactly, but could tell what was going on in a general sense. "And I also see you not with us today, so I'll take a guess and say you're going to school today?"

"Yup." I looked around. Carlisle and Esme looked content with my answer. Mom and Dad looked pleased yet slightly worried. Probably because they wouldn't be able to 'protect' me today at school. Rosalie acted nonchalant with my decision, smiling at me with I locked eyes with her. Emmett's expression caught my attention the most. He looked downright disappointed. I laughed.

"Don't look so blue, Emmett. I'll be sure to beat you in a snowball fight after school." At my words, he perked up immediately, a sly grin on his face.

"Don't be too sure of that, shorty."

* * *

Minutes later, I was on the back of Jake's bike once more. I had wanted to run to school in order to enjoy the beauty of the snow-crested forest, but my parents reminded me of the need to blend in. Right.

Jake skillfully maneuvered over the poorly plowed roads, weaving between lanes and cars. Though he was not a vampire, he sure drove like one.

Today's day at school was pretty much the same as always, except there was a little hype about the snow. Especially it being Friday, it seemed like everyone was making plans to go sledding, skiing, or hosting a snowball fight.

Kevin had bounded towards me like an excited lion cub, babbling about the snow. I grinned at him, sharing his excitement. Jake seemed a little tense at Kevin but tried not to show it.

Right before lunch, Kevin asked me to sit with him, Rachel, Sophie, and Jay at lunch. I had already explained to him how the rest of my family decided to start the weekend early and go on a skiing trip in the mountains and twisted a story about how Jake and I were to catch up with them later. Not really wanting to sit alone at a table with just us two, I agreed. He seemed to have an extra bounce in his step when we left the classroom.

I caught up with Jake by our lockers and told him about the invite at lunch and how I agreed. He tensed up immediately and I saw a flash of something in his eyes.

"And of course you're sitting with us, right?" I finished.

He noticeable relaxed, perhaps coming to the conclusion that with him there, I'll be safer. Slinging his arm around my shoulders, he whispered in my ear, "I go wherever you go, Ness, remember? Like your personal watchdog."

I pushed him away jokingly and crossed my arms in mock-anger. "I do not need a watchdog." Then I hugged him tightly. "But I do need a friend." I felt his arms wrap around me gently and sensed that I was forgiven for accepting Kevin's invitation.

* * *

Lunch was... awkward. No other word for it.

I didn't think it was because of me (I hoped), but rather because of Jake's attitude.

When I entered the lunchroom with Jake trailing behind me, I scanned the room for my human friends and saw Kevin stand up and wave to me to catch my attention. I made my way over to them.

"Hey." I smiled but then my smile faltered when I realized that they were staring. But then it registered in my mind that they were staring at something _behind_ me.

Turning, I saw Jake, all tensed up and fists clenched. I nudged him as gently as I could and that seemed to take him out of his reverie. We sat down, me next to Kevin and Jake on my other side. Conversation flowed once more, but I overheard Jay muttering to the guy next to him, "I didn't know _he_ was invited, too." Too bad he didn't know we had ultra-sensitive hearing. I peeked at Jake — if I heard that, then he most certainly did too — and saw him shaking slightly. I discreetly place my hand on his arm, sending him tranquil pictures — rainbows, waterfalls, quiet meadows, a little creek trickling in the woods — to help him calm down. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Not hungry?"

I turned to Kevin who gestured to the empty spot in front of me. I smiled. "No, not at the moment." Realizing that Jake didn't get any food either — poor thing must be starving —, I asked him, "Do you want to go get something to eat?" He surprised me by shaking his head stiffly. Hm, strange. Maybe he was too concentrated on not exploding into a wolf to think about food.

The chatter around me continued as I was pulled into different conversations. I recognized a few faces that were sitting here, all of them kids I've seen before in class or in the hallways. Even Jake started to loosen up, even more so when Jay mentioned cars. They both launched into a deep and intricate discussion about the different engines and which was better.

I eased up as well, deciding that maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all. Jake seemed to like Jay a lot; maybe he would make some friends too. But I spoke a little too soon.

"Hey, new girl."

Jake froze immediately at the voice, and his eyes hardened into black stones as he pivoted to face the newcomer. I turned as well, worrying about Jake's reaction but smiling at the figure that towered over me. After all, I saw no harm in him.

"Hey Derek," I replied nonchalantly, and I noticed that all conversation had paused, eyes on us. Sophie and Rachel looked a little awed while the boys had disgruntled expressions on their faces.

"What are you sitting with these losers for? I have a seat saved especially for you at our table." He glanced at Jake and the others. "Sorry, only one opening."

My eyes narrowed; _what gave him a right to talk to them like that?_ I tensed to get out of my seat and wrenched my arm from Jake's restraining grasp. Glaring at him straight in the eyes, I stood up, my vision blurred slightly from my rage and tinged with red on the edges. I could feel the vampire instinct to lunge at him taking over, but I squashed that need. Though I only reached up to his shoulders, I could feel him shrink back a little from my murderous gaze. With my index finger, I jabbed him as gently as I could in my anger, though it still send him reeling back.

"What the HELL is that supposed to mean?" I growled at him, hands now on my hips to keep from hurting him physically. Faintly, I felt all the surprised gazes that were drawn to our confrontation, but I was too wrapped up in my annoyance to notice or care. "What in the world gives you the right to talk to my friends like that?"

Derek opened his mouth to speak, a little worried crease in his brow, but I cut across him. This stupid mortal needed to be put back in his place. And I would gladly do it. After all, how could he insult the people who accepted me? I felt a strange sort of motherly instinct to protect them from harm.

"What, you think you're better than others just because you run around on a field, rolling in mud? That makes you _cool_?" I spat the last word out. My mind subconsciously reaching out for the information my parents once told me about bullies, I continued furiously, the red tint in my gaze growing darker. "Just because you think you're so hot and athletic and charming and witty, you think that makes you better than others? It doesn't! You're just insecure about yourself and how you feel about yourself that _you_ need to put others down to make _you_ feel better! And that just makes you a bully!"

I took a deep breath, huffing crossly. I then became fully aware of all the eyes that were locked on us. I leaned forward to snarl softly in his ear, "You are nothing but scum. And I am quite fine sitting with my friends who will always be better people than _you_. Leave with what little dignity you have left." I straightened back up and crossed my arms as my blood-red vision faded, watching him stumble backwards, bewildered, then put himself together before turning and marching back to his lunch table with his head held high. His football buddies were shaking with silent laughter.

I looked around, and seeing everyone now staring at me, I smiled angelically, silently berating myself for drawing all this attention to myself. "Sorry for the disruption. Continue with your lunch activities." And sat back down.

I waited for a few seconds, staring a hole into the middle of our table, listening to the roaring silence. I could feel my cheeks growing warm from all the attention. Then whispers broke out, easing the tension. A full forty-six seconds later, the lunchroom was as loud as it normally is. I ignored the occasional stares from around the room. _Great job, Renesmee_, I thought sullenly. _Way to fit in normally_.

Not sure if I wanted to see the expressions of my tablemates, I peeked up and cringed. They were all staring and gaping at me like I had sprouted antlers. I felt a warm hand grasp mine under the table and I looked to my left, smiling tentatively at Jake's reassuring grin.

Looking back at my human friends who had not moved a muscle, I relaxed and grinned, and trying to melt the tension, said nonchalantly, "What? You're staring like I grew wings or something."

That seemed to take them out of their reverie but they still had expressions of shock mixed with... awe.

"Um, Renesmee," Sophie choked out, "you just told off the _hottest_ and _most popular_ guy in school. He basically owns the school."

I shrugged. "So? Is that supposed to mean something to me? He had no right to speak of you guys like that."

Their gazes turned to ones of pure awe now. Kevin gave me a tight hug (Jake tensed next to me).

"You are so amazing," he whispered.

I felt my cheeks growing warmer and so I pushed away from him as politely as I could. But as I grinned at my friends around me, I could have sworn that another flash of dark emotion crossed Sophie's face. Almost like... dangerous envy.

* * *

Conversation flowed once more at the lunch table, and the topic was changed to that of the snow outside.

"Hey, are any of you doing anything this afternoon?" Kevin asked. I felt his eyes on me, but I avoided his gaze. "If not, we should totally meet to go sledding!" Everyone's interest perked up at this, and Kevin, pleased, continued. "There's this really good sledding hill by my house. We could all meet there right after school."

There was a collective agreement to this plan, smiles breaking out on all of their faces. Except for mine and Jake's.

Kevin looked at me hopefully. "What about you, Renesmee? You in?"

I hesitated. "I don't know... I have to get ready to go camping," I added, playing on my lie.

"Just for an hour or so," he pleaded. "Please? Jacob is welcome to come too."

I looked at Jake and he shrugged in an offhand way, but I thought I hinted a dash of sorrow in his eyes. "Do whatever you want," he murmured softly to me with a shrug. "If you want to go, I'll go home and, er, call them to let them know you'll be a little late. And I'll pack for you, Ness. Go if you want."

I smiled — Jake would do anything for me — and placed my hand on his arm in what was supposed to look like a thanking gesture to the humans though I was really just sending him a quick image and adding that I'll move the snowball fight to tonight. "You sure you don't want to come?"

Jake shook his head, smiling, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. This time, I was sure I sensed a little bit of worry mixed with sadness in them. I wrapped my arms around him, smothering myself in his calming scent. "Thanks, Jake," I whispered softly. "I'll be okay." Then I turned to my awaiting friends and announced, "Alright. I'll come." And I laughed when they erupted into cheers.

* * *

I knew that my parents would be worried sick about me, so I hoped that Alice could see something about me being totally fine and returning home in one piece. After all, I was indestructible. I couldn't help but be excited; it would be the first time I hung out with human friends outside of school. They certainly seemed to like me now, maybe even more so after my brief verbal beating I had given Derek.

Speaking of Derek...

As I exited my last hour of the day, a figure blocked my pathway. _Derek...._ Renewed anger surged through me, threatening to paint my vision red once more, as I thought of the guts he must have to face me again so soon. I crossed my arms defiantly, and my chin jutted out. "What do you want?" I asked harshly and tried to maneuver around him. "Get out of my way."

"Just hear me out," he pleaded. At the tone of his voice, I looked up, surprised. He had an earnest look on his face. I couldn't tell the intent of him stopping me in his eyes, so I gave him a sharp jerk of my head for him to continue. He took a deep breath and plunged in. "I'm really sorry, Renesmee. Everything you said about me at lunch is totally true. I didn't realize it until you confronted me like that. It was so different because nobody ever talked to me like that before. I did a lot of thinking this afternoon and decided you were right. I had no right to act like I did. I'm sorry. I'll try to change. Forgive me?"

I frowned at him, not sure what to make of this. Certainly people didn't change this fast... did they? What if he was just fooling me, but if he was, I couldn't see his motive behind it. Maybe he really was sincere. Again, I couldn't clearly read his emotions on his face or in his deep blue eyes. There was something of remorse there, but was it true or fake? I couldn't decide. I wish Edward was here to help me decipher his meaning.

"Please, Renesmee. I want to be your friend. Please," he begged. I couldn't help but smile at him — he looked so downtrodden, even if it may not be real.

"Alright. Fine."

"Hooray!" he shouted and swung me around in a circle, causing a giggle to burst from my lips. I pushed away from him once he put me down.

"Try to contain yourself. People are staring," I laughed.

He shrugged. "I can't help it. I act so spontaneously whenever I'm around you. You just seem so different from the other girls."

"You have no idea," I murmured under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," I shot out instantly, chiding myself silently.

He watched me, a little thoughtful frown on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, curious. Okay, I really wish Dad was here. Or at least that I had his power.

A grin spread across his face. "I thought of a way to make it up to you for being such a butthead earlier. Why don't you let me buy you dinner tonight? I'll make it worth your while." A sly grin slid on his lips, and I merely rolled my eyes at his innuendo.

"What about everyone else you acted like a butthead to? I don't think you have enough money to pay for dinners for the entire school," I teased. I surprised myself in how easily I was getting along with a guy who just moments before infuriated me.

He lifted his arms and shrugged his shoulders in a helpless motion. "Sorry. Admit One Ticket only. I figured if I made it up to you, the rest of the school would quickly follow."

Part of me urged me to say yes, but I quickly squashed it. "Sorry, Derek, I can't tonight. I'm going sledding with Kevin, Rachel, Sophie, and other friends, and then I'm hanging out with my brother Emmett." His face fell and I blurted it out before I could think of the consequences. "Hey, why don't you come sledding with us this afternoon?"

A flash of what looked like disgruntlement ran across his face, but it went by so fast, I couldn't tell if that's what I really saw. After all, I was still no pro at reading human expressions. But he looked so gleeful at my invitation, I put that thought aside. "Absolutely!" he crowed, eyes sparkling. He leaned in towards me, adding softly, "See you later, Renesmee Cullen." After lifting my hand to his lips while gazing at me with his clear blue eyes — such a tease — he walked away towards his black truck.

As I watched his strong form climb into his truck, all sense seemed to rush back to me. What the hell did I do? I shook my head vigorously. I must be crazy. First agreeing to go sledding with my humans friends. Now inviting Derek, a guy I was just seen screaming at a few hours ago, along for the ride? What has gotten into me?

I thought back, wondering when I had lost all sense. Derek just had a little charisma about him, making people want to please him. No wonder he's so "popular," as Sophie put it. Maybe just the fact that though hundreds of girls are pinning for his affection, he was showing interest in _me_ made me throw out my common sense. Maybe just the fact that he made me feel special, almost loved. And loved in a non-family, non-brotherly way. Like a girl should be loved.

* * *

Jake pulled into the Quinn's driveway, leaving the motor rumbling as I climbed off behind him. He had kept quiet during the ride over here, and it seemed like he was, once again, worried about me. He was also probably a little angry that I invited Derek along with me. Just as I turned to leave, he called out my name and found myself smothered in a huge bear hug. His warmth was so comforting, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Jake, what's wrong?" I whispered into his chest.

He sighed and pulled apart just enough so he could stare me in the eyes. I felt a jolt of worry as I saw the deep sadness in his dark eyes. I held my breath. "Nessie," he murmured gently, contradicting the pain in his eyes. He rubbed his thumb lightly on my cheek, and I tried to keep my eyes from fluttering closed. "Please be careful."

"Of course, Jake," I said, bemused. "I'll always be careful. Anyways, I'm indestructible, remember?" I added jokingly, trying to make him laugh. His expression remained pained.

"No, Nessie. I meant be careful with who you let into your heart and mind," he said lowly in all seriousness.

My heart skipped in fear at his tone. "Jake?"

He pulled me into another bone crushing hug. "Oh, Ness. Why do I feel like I'm just about to lose you? That as I leave you here right now, when I see you next, you won't be my Nessie anymore?"

"Jake, that's silly," I murmured into his warm chest. "You'll never lose me. I'll always be your Nessie as you'll always be my Jacob."

He nodded dejectedly and climbed back on his bike. As I watched his form shrinking in the distance, my mind mulled over what he just said. What did he mean by losing me? How could he? And why would he ever lose me? It all sounded like rubbish. I would always be his Nessie after all. Right?

But as I walked towards the front door, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was some extra wolf-sense that made Jake believe this. And I also couldn't help but feel a little troubled. Was I saying the truth when I told him I'd always be his Nessie? Or was I just trying to convince and fool myself as well as him?

At my knock, Kevin threw open the door and crowed, "Renesmee! You made it!" He looked so much like a hyperactive toddler that I couldn't help but smile and try to put my troubles aside.

"Hey Kevin."

"You're the last one to arrive, so if you just want to head out back..." Kevin trailed off as the doorbell rang. Looking confusedly, he opened the door and froze in shock as he saw who it was. "Derek? What are you doing here?"

I turned and found myself facing five feet eleven inches of tanned skin, toned muscle, and pure gorgeousness. My breath caught and I chided myself silently for thinking that way of him; after all, it was only a few hours before when he made me furious.

Once I found my voice, I deliberated faced away from Derek, apologizing to Kevin, "Sorry, Kevin. I forgot to tell you that I invited Derek over, too. I know I had no right to do so since this isn't my house, but he apologized for how he acted at lunch. And. Well." I shrugged, not knowing how else to put it.

Kevin looked slightly miffed that I invited another guy, especially _Derek Coles_ of all people, but quickly rearranged his features to look joyous. "Come on," he said, grabbing my hand. "Everyone's waiting outside."

I tried to find a way to reattach from Kevin without hurting his feelings but couldn't think of one, so I just let him drag me to his backyard. Derek followed closely behind. I could smell his strong human scent mixed with some light cologne. It suited him.

Everyone showed surprise at seeing Derek trailing behind me, especially after the verbal abuse I gave him earlier, but they all seemed to accept him quickly nonetheless. I had forgotten to bring a sled with me, so I just shared with the others.

I had to admit, hanging out with humans could be fun. I had to control my strength and acted like the climb up the hill was tiring and had to keep myself from moving too fast. It was easy to control my vampire thirst, but at times when a human came by too close and unexpectedly, I had to bite down on my lip to keep from sinking my teeth into them. But overall, it went well.

I mainly rode with Rachel, the quiet girl, but also rode down a few times with Kevin, Jay, and Derek. Sometimes Rachel would ride with Jay. Every time one of the guys would talk to me or offer to share their sled, I noticed from the corner of my eyes the dirty looks Sophie gave me. Seems like I was right about her at lunch.

I didn't want any antagonism between us, so I tried to keep away from Kevin, whom she obviously had an attraction for. But the feeling was only one-way, as I soon found out when Kevin approached me when I had just finished sliding down the hill.

I didn't give him much notice as I was busy getting up and swiping at the clumps of snow that managed to get into my hair. "Hey Kevin," I greeted absentmindedly.

"Hey Renesmee. Um, I have something to ask you…"

I looked up when he didn't continue. "Yeah?" As I watched him, he squirmed, seeming nervous. But what about? My answer was answered when he went on.

"You know about the Winter Dance coming up, right?" he started hesitantly. My mind floated back to the millions of flyers and daily announcements about the annual Holiday Dance. It was semi-formal (whatever semi meant) and was fast approaching. I immediately got the gist of what he was about to ask and quickly cut him off before my friendship with Sophie could be ruined completely.

"Yeah, I heard about that. It was all Sophie could talk about." I looked around obviously (and caught sight of Sophie watching me mutinously) then leaned in and stage-whispered in his ear. "You know, I think she really wants to go with you. She's just to shy to ask you herself," I lied convincingly. I felt a little guilty about playing with them this way since she said nothing of the sort to me, but since I was absolutely positive Sophie would be thanking me (and it probably wasn't a lie; I bet she really was wishing that), I brushed it aside.

"Really?" Kevin asked, looking taken aback. All thoughts of his previous motive vanished. "Hm." He glanced over at Sophie who, right on cue, smiled flirtingly and waved at him. He grinned back at her.

"Yeah, really," I persuaded. "You should go ask her right now. But don't tell her I told you that because she'll get pissed at me," I added.

"Okay," he agreed and headed her way. I could see the way she perked up and felt better about myself for helping her this way. Even if she was an envious excuse for a friend.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Kevin said something to her, she just about shrieked and threw herself at him, and he laughed. My lips twitched, begging to smile, but I contained it until she bounded towards me moments later, a huge self-satisfied smile on her face.

"Guess what!"

"What?" I asked, playing along.

"Guess who asked me to the Winter Dance!" she continued, eyes glowing with mirth and smugness.

"Who?"

"Kevin!" she squealed.

I pulled her into a hug. "Oh my God, that's great! I'm so happy for you!" I squealed along with her. And I was truly happy for her. Maybe I could put aside her jealous demeanor and evil glares she gave me and be real friends since she got her beau.

While we waited in line to go down the hill again, she continued to gush about how gorgeous and amazing Kevin was. I listened with half a mind, nodding in all the right places. The other half was currently occupied, eavesdropping on Rachel and Jay's conversation, who were both at the top of the hill, ready for the journey down.

Now that I understood better the actions of humans, I really paid attention to the way they acted around each other. Rachel would stare into his eyes then look down, embarrassed. And he would continue to try to hold her gaze. They were both unconsciously leaning in to each other at the moment, in deep discussion. Occasionally, Rachel would let loose a soft laugh and Jay would smile triumphantly. Huh. I wondered why I never noticed all this before. It seemed glaringly obvious now.

Jay gazed down at Rachel with pure affection on his dark, handsome face, cracking jokes to make her laugh. He was so rowdy and acted like a clown while Rachel was so quiet and so smart, it almost seemed like they had no chemistry. But apparently the saying "Opposites attract" takes affect here. I wondered if one of them was going to make a move and ask the other on a date since it sure seemed like it was heading in that direction.

They both climbed onto Jay's bright red sled and flew down the hill, laughing loudly. I watched with a critical eye as the sled seemed off balance to the right, and I had to stop myself from flashing forward to stop it. Just then, the sled veered to the right and tossed the two off, Rachel screaming. All the humans froze at the sound (I was already frozen in fear) and whipped their heads towards the source.

But the scream turned into laughter as she and Jay rolled to a stop, their limbs entangled and covered in snow. Jay chuckled and heaved himself up, grinning widely, while offering a hand to her which she accepted. Once they were both on their feet, Jay tugged her closer to him and leaned forward to graze her ear with his lips. Still holding her hand, he whispered something into her ear and I chuckled as I heard his words a split second before Rachel's face broke out in a shining smile and she nodded joyfully.

He pulled her into his toned body, wrapping his arms around her. Her dark green eyes sparkled as they gazed into his dark brown ones, her glossy black hair slightly covering part of her face shyly. Jay reached up and tenderly tucked her hair behind her ear, murmuring softly (my half-vampire ears catching his words clearly), "I want to see your beautiful face when I do this."

Her bemused expression morphed into shock then pleasure as he leaned forward and affectionately pressed his lips to hers briefly. Her cheeks flushed when they broke apart to wolf-whistles and cat-callings.

Jay and Rachel turned to face us, Jay looking proud as he slung an arm around her shoulders, and Rachel looking embarrassed. I gave her an encouraging smile. It was ironic that both Rachel and Sophie got asked out and to the dance on the same day during the same event. Maybe it was some human thing to ask people to dances while hanging out together and when things were a little more intimate. Maybe just the ask-girls-to-the-dance mood was in the air.

It surprised me when I realized that I felt a little empty twinge inside me: No boy had yet to ask me to the dance (though I'm sure Jake wouldn't mind taking me; and I think that was the plan. But still, that's different from a guy actually asking me. I know, so self-absorbed. But I can't help what I feel). The malicious side of my mind quickly blurted out the reason why it was so before I could repress that thought; I was too plain, too strange, too inhuman. I would never belong.

* * *

After half an hour in the cold, my cheeks and nose had been painted a bright red. I stood off to the side of the slope, watching as Jay went shooting down the hill, standing like a surfer on a surfboard. Everyone roared with laughter at his antics, and I grinned as well. How silly these humans were.

I had my arms wrapped around me as a habit when I felt another presence approaching me from behind. I tensed as I felt a pair of arms overlapping my own.

"You look a little cold and lonely, standing here all by yourself," Derek murmured in my ear.

I repressed a shudder as his warm breath washed over my neck (shudder of disgust or pleasure, I couldn't tell). "No, I'm fine."

"Really? 'Cause I could warm you up real quick if you'd like..." He pulled me tighter to him, and I felt his body heat caressing me.

I saw Sophie watching me out of the corner of my eye. Not wanting more unwanted attention to myself, I self-consciously pulled away from his embrace. "I'm fine. Really."

But Derek was relentless. He took another step forward to match mine and pulled me to him once more. No words spoken this time, he merely pressed his warm, soft lips to my neck.

I sucked in a sharp breath at this new feeling and my eyes shut immediately. His hands caressed my abdomen while he continued to trail kisses up and down my neck. I never felt this before. No human male or immortal male had ever kissed me with lust, even if it wasn't on the lips.

I felt the familiar burning in my throat at the smell of his blood so close, and I was surprised that how quickly and forcefully I was able to squash that thirst without much effort. All I knew was that I wanted this feeling to continue and biting him would ruin that. But it was so effortless to control myself that I could do it without thinking. This was good, considering my brain had turned to mush from the vampire emotions that were assaulting it.

"God, you smell good," he whispered against my warm, granite skin, pressing his nose to the hollow of my neck and inhaling deeply.

I wasn't sure why I was reacting this way to him. The sensible side of me argued that it was because vampires had such a stronger sense of emotions. This was a new feeling and was thusly heightened by my vampire senses. It really didn't have anything to do with Derek, just that he was the first male who kissed me.

My non-sensible side merely told me to shut up and just lose myself in the feeling.

He pressed another kiss to the edge of my chin and murmured, "Renesmee."

"Hm?" I sighed, not really hearing him.

"I decided to follow the trend Kevin and Jay set today." His voice grew lower, a husky undertone to it. He paused, feathering light kisses down my neck. "You know about the Winter Dance coming up?"

"Mm hmm," I answered absentmindedly.

"You want to go with me?"

I paused, slightly surprised. I was even more surprised when I found myself actually considering his offer. It was assumed that I would be going with Jake since Mom was going with Dad, Alice with Jasper, and Rose with Emmett. But he hadn't formally asked me. A quick surge of delight hit me: a guy wanted to go with _me_ to the dance! Before I could think about it fully, I replied on impulse. "Sure."

As soon as I spoke this word, a few things happened instantaneously: Derek's face broke out in a huge grin, he leaned in towards me, cat-calling broke out once more among the teenagers, my cell phone wildly vibrated in my pocket. And the most vital thing: Derek pressed his soft lips to my own.

That rush of extreme vampire emotions increased tenfold. It confused me, muddled my brain. I couldn't think, couldn't respond. I could only vaguely realize that I was kissing him back.

There was only me and him in the world now; nobody else mattered. My ears heard the giggles and wolf-whistles that erupted around us, but my brain didn't register the fact. The sensitive nerves in my cheeks felt the cold breeze caressing them, but I did not notice. The phone in my pocket continued to vibrate insistently, but that fact was lost on me. I couldn't even remember my name at this point. These new emotions were that overwhelming. I merely lost myself in the feeling, succumbing to what my emotions were telling me.

His lips were soft and gentle against my hard, stone-like ones. Though I could smell his blood pulsing through his veins even more strongly now, it did not faze me. One hand was pressed on the small of my back, pulling me to him, while the other was at the base of my head, keeping me locked in this embrace. My arms moved with a life of their own, shifting to tangle themselves in his thick dark locks. Slowly, his mouth grew more insistent as he felt me respond back and his tongue lightly tracing my lips.

Before I could react to that, a mournful sound pierced the sky, causing me to jump back from Derek as if I was shocked. Everyone looked around them in alarm, trying to find the source of the sound. It sounded pained, like the howl of a wolf-mother who had lost one of her pups. It pierced my fluttering heart sharply. I recognized the howl immediately, though I had never heard that voice so sorrowful before. His name slipped through my lips like the whisper of a breeze, too low for any human to hear.

"Jacob?"

* * *

**A/N: **So there you have it. =) A little mini cliffie, there, I think. Reviews would make me extremely happy. ;D And could coerce me into posting sooner. =)

Let me know what you think so far! Any words of constructive criticism are welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I'm sorry if the "chapters" seem as if they have breaks in them. When I originally wrote it, it was broken into smaller chapters, but I figured that I might as well put them into larger chapters since I have it done. Like, there's a bit of Jake's POV later in this "chapter," which was originally it's own chapter. Capice?

Anyways, thanks to all my readers and to the few who left a review! You rock! =)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

I took a step forward towards the edge of the forest that bordered Kevin's house a little uncertainly. Then Jake's pained howl stopped. I bit my lip in worry as I took another tentative step. When the sound restarted, this time sounding much nearer, I felt a strange relief at the sound of hearing his, er, 'voice.' The ground trembled softly — _thump-thump, thump-thump_ — as each giant paw padding against the ground grew closer and closer. Of course, only I could feel this through my ultra-sensitive skin.

"Renesmee?" Derek called out, reaching for me in confusion to my actions, but I disregarded him. Instead, I cocked my head, listening harder and noticing the change in the sound waves. It sounded as if the howl was getting softer now, as if the source was moving away from us. _Shit_.

"Oh, God," I muttered, burying my face in my hands. I would be dead when I got back. No, scratch that. _Derek_ would be dead when he got back. Dad and Jake would personally tear him apart. After all, even Jake demonstrated his feelings about me kissing Derek; the protective brotherly side of him must have taken over once he realized what had happened. And there were no secrets in the Cullen family, thanks to the combined talents of my mindreading father and psychic aunt.

Jake must have phased immediately in his anger and must have been on his way to rip Derek away from me. But someone must have stopped him from his rampage. Dad? No. Mom? Maybe, if she caught him and forced him to listen to sense. But how would she do that while he was phased? Maybe Quil or Embry. Or Seth. One of them must have been in their wolf forms when Jake phased and heard his thoughts and plans and talked him out of it.

Either way, I was sure I would be in tremendous trouble when I got home too. And I could see Dad or Mom giving me a lecture on how risky that was to kiss a human, how I could have killed him, how I could have exposed us all. I would have to convince them somehow to leave Derek alone.

I should probably go home and face the music.

I turned to leave but then felt a hand wrap around my wrist in a futile attempt to hold me there. I could have easily just pulled myself out of the weak, human grasp, but my subconscious screamed, "Human! Careful!" I relented and let myself be restrained. Swiveling around, I faced the culprit: Derek. He had an adorably bewildered expression on his face.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion and worry.

"Home," I replied simply, giving my hand a what-I-hoped-was-gentle tug.

Derek cocked one dark eyebrow at me, tugging at my arm with a haughty air. As much as I didn't want to, I let myself be pulled along like a normal human girl would so that I was pressed flush against him once more. "What if I don't want you to go?" he demanded in a low voice.

I snorted, narrowing my eyes at him and his controlling manner. "I don't think you have that much power over me."

The arrogant demeanor vanished, and I was shocked to see the vulnerability that peeked underneath his armor. His eyes, rounded and pleading, begged at me, and his facial expression softened. He pulled the hand that held mine captive around his body so that I had my arm basically wrapped around him. Placing my hand on his back, he let me go to place his hands gently at my waist. "Please? Stay with me for a little bit longer."

I hesitated, feeling myself falling into the depths of his deep brown eyes. My skin tingled from where his hands were positioned, even under the layers of clothing.

He noticed my uncertainty and pressed onward. "Besides, I don't want you out and about when a crazy wolf is on the loose," he murmured husily. "Didn't you hear that howl?"

I grinned inwardly at the blunt truth behind his words. If only he knew.

"At least let me take you home if you're absolutely set on that," he pleaded, leaning until our foreheads touched so intimately. "That way I can be sure you get home safely."

His sincerity touched me; it sounded like he actually cared. My lips curled into a smile, and his return grin at seeing my smile was blindingly dazzling. I was just about to agree to his last offer when my phone let out another unrelenting shudder in my pocket, demanding attention. I sighed, pulling it out of the pocket and untangling myself from him. "Hold on a sec, Derek. Let me take this."

Walking a few steps away, I glanced at the screen. Alice. Of course. She probably had a blurry vision of me with Derek, groping at each other. A shudder ran down my back. Then Dad probably saw her vision and freaked out, half because I could've killed Derek and half because I was his daughter. Then Jacob probably found out, and he freaked as well and, his being so impulsive, just phased and ran off to me. That made about sense.

Running the scenario through my mind, I glanced over my shoulder as I flipped open my phone to answer it. Derek was watching me with anxious eyes, giving me a reassuring smile when our eyes met. Rachel and Jay were watching me with equally worried expressions while Sophie had a mixture of alarm at the howl and annoyance at me. Kevin and the others were gazing out into the woods with a bewildered expression on their faces, unsure of what just happened. Apparently, wolves were rarely heard in this region.

"Nessie!" Alice yelled into my ear as soon as I had connected to the call. I wrenched the phone away with a small squeak of surprise. When Derek made to run over to me, I merely shook my head and smiled apologetically. I placed the small phone back at my ear.

"Please don't yell," I said lowly, trying to keep the humans from eavesdropping. "It hurts my ears."

"Ness! What happened? What did you do?" Alice bombarded, instantly getting to the bulk of things. "God, I hate being so blind with you!" she grumbled to herself.

I sighed at her over-exaggeration — she wasn't nearly as 'blind' with me as she was with Jake — and replied softly and with vampire speed to ward off eavesdroppers even further. They would just hear murmuring. "You know as well as I do what happened. What did you see?"

She hesitated. "I... saw your future change," she replied simply.

I could feel my brow crinkle in confusion. She had to have seen more than _that_. I wasn't invisible to her; I was merely blurry. "How did it change?"

Alice paused once more, uncertainty blossoming in the silence. "I don't know. You sort of... disappeared. Not like usual or like when you're with Jacob. More of… uncertainty in your future. You've reached a fork in the road and you haven't quite decided which path to take. I keep seeing different flashes of different futures, each unclear. It almost reminded me of when Edward couldn't decide what to do when he first met your mother," she added like an afterthought following her rapid monologue.

I tried to take this all in, a feeling of shock and dread coming over me at the uncertainty of the future. And she hadn't mentioned anything about Derek yet. I cautiously pushed her further. "Was that it? You didn't see anything closer in the future?"

"Well... no. I saw something else." She faltered, guilt trickling into her voice. _Ah, there it is._

"What did you see?" I asked, bracing myself for the verdict.

"I saw... you and Derek... together. Holding each other. And kissing," she finished. "I guess that should be in past tense since it already happened now, right, Ness?"

I groaned. _Great._ "Is Dad and Jake mad?"

"Edward isn't really... mad, per say. Not really," she finished lamely. I could feel the silence coloring with my skepticism. "Okay, okay, he is furious. But not at you. He has it in his mind that Derek is taking advantage of you. You can't blame your father for being so protective like that."

I sighed. I suppose I couldn't. I'd have to talk to him about that and convince him that I had as much of a part in it as Derek did. "Tell him I'll talk with him once I get home." I hoped that didn't mean the snowball fight would be canceled. But then I realized that there was something missing in her explanation. "Wait, what about Jake?"

Another pause. "Jacob's not mad either." I hinted a bit of another emotion behind her words, but I couldn't figure it out.

"Really? Huh. I thought he'd act all protective like Dad," I mused, pursing my lips. "After all, he did towards all the other boys that talked to me during school."

"It's not quite the same, Nessie," Alice said almost curtly. "But I'm not really the one you should be talking to about that."

"Okay...." _Weird._

I heard voices in the background. Holding the receiver closer to my ear, I tried to detangle the faint words.

"Get away, Edward."

"Give me the phone, Alice."

"Edward!"

I heard a rustle over the phone and pressed it closer to my ear, trying to hear better.

"Nessie?" a deeper voice rumbled.

"Hello? Dad?"

"Yes, it is I." I could hear the restrained anger in his voice. "Listen, love, could you give the phone to that Derek boy? I would like to talk to him."

_Uh, yeah right, Dad. I'm not that dumb_. I teased my bottom lip nervously, trying to get around this. "Um... I don't think that's a good idea. You don't want people to find out we're not human, do you?" I half-joked.

"Ness," he growled and I flinched at the change in his tone. He was using his 'angry Dad' voice now. "I won't say anything to him that'll give away what we are."

_Um, yeah right_. "Also keep in mind that you're not my dad, you're my brother," I added in, trying to convince him with logic, something that didn't work very often but was worth a try.

"Big brothers can be protective, too," he refuted.

"I don't think you fit the 'big brother' stereotype very well.," I shot back.

"Give the phone to him, Ness."

"No."

"Ness...."

"No," I said firmly, a hint of a taunt in my voice.

I could hear him sigh exasperatedly. "So stubborn. Like your mother." The last phrase was caressed love lovingly than the rest. Argument over.

"I hear I get my stubbornness from you, though," I shot back cheekily, smirking into the phone.

"Fine," he gave in. "Don't give him the phone. But we're having a serious talk when you get home, young lady."

"Okay, now you _definitely _don't sound like a big brother," I teased.

"Nessie...."

I giggled. "Alright, alright. How's Jake?" I piped in.

A tense silence echoed from his end of the phone. My brows furrowed; _what the hell was going on?_

"Dad?"

"He's... fine."

"_Dad_...."

"Really. He's just... in a weird mood. Can you stay there for like an hour? I'll come and pick you up."

"Um... sure?"

"Alright. Be careful, Ness. Bye."

"Bye," I replied back, but he already hung up the phone. Okay, things were definitely weird. As I slid my phone back in my pocket, I sensed someone approaching me from behind and tensed up. My body relaxed when the semi-familiar touch embraced it.

"What's up?" Derek murmured into my ear, his warm breath washing over the side of my cheek, and he wrapped his arms around me. "You look... sad and confused."

"Nothing. Just something at home," I tried to reply back lightly.

"Oh." He crinkled his eyebrow. "Anything I can do to help?"

I laughed tensely. "Don't ask. Really."

"Okay. So about that ride home...."

"Oh, yeah! Um, well, my da—brother banned me from the house for about another hour and said he'd come pick me up, so." I shrugged.

His grip tightened around me. "That works for me, too. I'll keep you hostage for an hour until your bro comes to get you. We could play some games." His tone of voice made a light shiver run down my back.

"Okay," I breathed, falling into his embrace.

* * *

**Jacob Black**

I was lounging on the couch, staring with glazed-eyes at the flickering television. The strong, cold stink of vampires wafted around me, but I took no notice; after years of hanging around them, I was nearly immune to the smell now. Doc and little delicate Esme were out hunting at the moment. Muscles, Psycho, Seer, and Emo-vamp were outside, hosting a snowball fight — Emmett couldn't wait for Ness to come home. Bella and the mindreader were upstairs in their bedroom — I was trying not to think about what they were doing, but the constant banging on the walls didn't help any.

I tried to dull my mind with the mindless television shows so that I wouldn't think about Nessie. I could barely keep myself in this seat and from rushing out of the door to her. I couldn't help how I was drawn to her like a fly to a fire — and that analogy fit so well; I was just like an average, nothing-special pest of a fly whilst she was like a fire, burning bright with the liveliness within her, beautiful yet dangerous, powerful yet dependent. When she first agreed to go to Kevin's get-together, then invited Derek along for the ride, I felt even more worthless. I could never compare to her.

All I knew was that I loved her and couldn't live without her.

If only she felt the same way.

I wanted to protect her from those human boys, whose vile thoughts might one day defile Nessie as well. I could tell that she felt drawn to them, especially that Derek character, but it was only because she could tell that they felt something for her. She only returned a fraction of that emotion. Nothing compared to what I felt for her.

But she didn't know that that emotion was just teenage lust, that once Derek got what he wanted, he would discard her like a useless tissue. I tried warning her from that, but the stubbornness in her wouldn't listen.

I couldn't even explain that inexplicable feeling that came over me when I was driving Ness over to Kevin's; it was like a cold dread, similar to what I felt that terrible day years ago when we faced the Volturi. The feeling that we wouldn't all emerge alive. It was the feeling that I was about to lose something or someone very important to me. Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to her. But I couldn't help it. When I saw her walking away from me, I felt like she was taking part of my heart away with her. A part of me that I wouldn't get back.

I wrenched my mind away from those thoughts and tried to concentrate on the glowing people on the screen. The low voices murmured to each other meaninglessly.

I furrowed my brow, realizing that something was a little off right now. I cocked my head, letting my wolf senses take over.

Huh. Weird. It was strangely quiet now. I realized now that the muted thuds of ice hitting stone had ceased, along with the constant banging from upstairs. I glanced out the glass window-wall to where the four bloodsuckers were having their snowball fight. The field looked nearly abandoned — the four vampires were gathered at the edge of it. Three of them were surrounding a fourth. I didn't think much of this at first. But then, with a jolt, I recognized that glazed expression — Alice. I strained to hear what they were saying.

"I can't see!" Alice's voice drifted, smothered with worry.

"Well, I thought you normally couldn't — "

"It's different than that, Emmett! I mean I can't _see_ her future anymore! It's like she's having a huge indecision after I had that one vision."

What? What happened? Who were they talking about?

A flicker of movement caught my eye and I looked up to catch a glimpse of the mindreader — Edward — rushing down the stairs and out the door. Bella was trailing after him and I caught her expression — wild bewilderment.

The feeling of cold dread filled me once more, but I pushed that thought out of my mind. It couldn't be.

I pulled myself out of the couch and quickly followed Bella out the door.

As soon as I glimpsed everyone's expressions, my heart sank. Something had definitely happened.

Edward had his hands on Alice's shoulders, her eyes familiarly dazed like she looked when she was getting a vision. Bella was next to the mindreader, wringing her hands in frustration and worry. The pained emo-vamp — Jasper — was behind Alice looking ready to throw Edward off of his girl if he showed signs of hurting her. The Psycho Rose and Muscles — Emmett — stood off a little to the side, snow layering their hair and clothes. None of them noticed me yet.

Bella finally exploded in her frustration. "Okay, someone tell me what the hell happened."

Alice's eyes refocused, but she didn't seem to have heard Bella. She merely shook her head at something and whispered, "I still can't tell. It's all moving so fast."

Edward's hands tightened on her shoulders, and Jasper let out a warning growl until he loosened his grip.

"Tell me what's wrong with my baby girl!" Bella just about shrieked. I felt like an arrow pierced my already-broken heart. Something had happened to my Nessie.

Edward's eyes were still locked with Alice's when he answered her in a low voice. "She can't see Nessie's future anymore. It's all mixed and jumbled as if she's extremely comfused or overwhelmed. It started after she saw Nessie... kissing Derek."

Did I think my heart was broken before? Well it was nothing compared to how I felt now.

I could vaguely hear Bella and Rose letting out a low snarl and Edward joining in, his eyes flashing. I faintly heard him say, "I'm going to tear his throat out for touching her." But my brain heard none of it with the blood churning in my ears. "Call her," Edward commanded, a million miles away.

I saw little Alice pulling out a silver phone before my vision wavered. Everything became fuzzy and blurry as wave after wave of grief hit me. I had lost her. What I had said to her before was true.

Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to get away.

I knew the one place I could get my solitude. As I crouched, I was vaguely aware of Bella's eyes flickering to me and her mouth opening in horror to call out to me.

Too late.

Ignoring my clothes, I forced a ripple of fire down my body and I exploded, shards of clothing snowing everywhere. I fell down onto all fours, lowering my muzzle to the ground and glaring out with slit eyes.

Ah, so much better. No more complex human emotions.

I pivoted, dodging the familiar vampire form of Bella that came at me, and threw myself into the forest. I knew they would be easily able to follow me, especially with the soft paw-prints my feet made in the powdery snow. But I didn't care. I had a head start and the only one that had a chance of catching me would be Edward. And he would be too busy with N—_her_ to deal with me.

I concentrated on my wolf instincts, blearily watching as tree after tree whipped past me. My mind was somewhere else. I could faintly hint two other minds with me. It took me a long second to recognize them as Seth and Embry. Though I had alpha-ordered them to go with Sam's pack, their hearts were with me; thus I still had a connection with them and Sam. I could only talk directly with Sam, like usual, since distance did not affect our connection. With Seth, Leah, Quil, and Embry, I could vaguely tell their thoughts when they were in their wolf forms and I only heard what they said if they spoke directly to me as well.

Right now, the two were on patrol and their thoughts had a hint of surprise at me — they could taste my anguish.

_Jake?_ Seth's thoughts called out to me tentatively. I ignored him.

My feet buckled from underneath me as another lance of pain shot through my heart. I stumbled, flaking myself in the snow. Ahh. There it was. My tie to the one I imprinted on gave me a strong connection to her, and now that instinct told me I was on a verge of losing the one I could not live without. On the cold ground now, I writhed, lashing out at the flora around me with extended claws. _Make the pain stop_, I moaned to nobody in particular.

I heard a heartbreaking howl pierce the still air and I was shocked to realize that it came from my throat. Without breaking the howl, I thrashed my head repeatedly against the snowy forest floor to concentrate the pain to something I could control.

_Jake?!_ Seth panicked. _What happened?_

I disregarded him again. Embry's faint, worried voice joined in with Seth's.

I felt another's presence nearing. My wolf instinct took over again as I hopped to my feet, teeth bared and a growl erupting deep in my throat. I recognized the form as little Alice, but it didn't matter. I lunged back into the depths of the forest, this time following my nose. The familiar scent that I was following would always be imprinted within me.

I concentrated on my running now — _thump-thump, thump-thump _— and let out another pained howl as I caught the dim scent of that other boy — Derek — mixing with Nessie's. I didn't know what my plan was; I just knew I had to get to her.

A shot of clarity attacked my brain. _You can't just barge in there_, the sensible side of my argued. _She'll hate you forever if you kill him or do anything to hurt him. And you might not be able to control yourself and end up hurting her too._

I stopped in my tracks, unable to control my continuous howling, and swiveled to run the other way. I had to get away from her now. I couldn't be here while she was with another man.

I plunged my mind back into primitive thoughts, paying no attention to the alarmed thoughts of Embry and Seth. I was vaguely aware of the fact that three more thoughts joined them — Quil, Leah, and Sam.

_If Ness doesn't love me, there is no point for me to live._

This thought ran through my mind on a loop. My mind flashed to years ago, when Bella jumped from that cliff. There was a cliff a mile away from here that would work nicely. I briefly wondered what would happen if I broke all the bones in my body. I wondered if throwing myself off a cliff could even break my bones.

Might as well try.

I altered my course slightly, energy pumping into my limbs with the thought of a mission. The other wolf-minds in my head went berserk as they distantly saw the outlines of my plan.

_NO!_ Embry yelled.

_JAKE!_ Quil howled in an attempt to break my attention from this gruesome plan of mine.

_Jake, DON'T!_ Seth crowed, pleading.

_Jacob Black, think of what you're doing!_ Sam bellowed in a panic.

I cut them all off by phasing back into my human form a few feet from the edge of the cliff. The new silence was so blissful that I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the peace. Then my thoughts turned back to the one I had lost, and I felt hot prickles in the corners of my eyes. I took a step forward, eyes still closed and arms outstretched. The wind pulled at my hair, whipping it at my face.

_Good-bye_....

I took another step.

_WHAM!_

A form of cold stone rammed right into me, knocking me away from the cliff's edge. I could've struggled and taken down the form that pinned me to the snowy floor, but all the fight in me had vanished as suddenly as I was knocked to the ground. I merely groaned and rolled into a tight ball, fighting the tears away.

The figure that attacked me seemed to know of my surrender and got off me.

"Looks like you got here just in time," a high voice chirruped and I was faintly surprised at the new arriver. My mind worked to match voice to face and finally came to a conclusion. Alice.

"Yeah," a low voice replied. My mind worked faster this time. Edward. "He was just about to jump off when I got here. Kind of a déjà vu moment, huh?"

I sensed someone crouching down next to me and prodding me. "Is he okay?"

"Of course not."

"Right."

There was a pause.

"Of course he's not wearing any clothes," Edward replied and it took me a second to realize he was responding to Alice's thoughts. "Didn't you see him explode out of them when he phased?"

Another pause.

"I don't think he's cold."

Cold? Huh. Nope, didn't feel any of it. All my nerves were numbed.

Something heavy covered my body. A jacket?

"Yeah, my jacket," Edward murmured. "Is she picking up yet?"

What?

"No," Alice replied.

Oh. He was talking to the bloodsucker.

I heard a faint ringing now that must be coming from the other end of the phone. There was a click.

"Nessie!" Alice yelled into the phone. Edward seemed to have stopped breathing. There was a brief pause and then I heard _her _voice coming through the phone, slightly muffled. _Ahhh...._ I gritted my teeth together, digging my nails into the palms of my hands.

"Please don't yell. It hurts my ears."

"Ness! What happened? What did you do?" Alice shrieked, almost bouncing on the balls of her heels in her anxiety. "God, I hate being so blind with you!" I cracked open an eye to see Edward holding out one hand for the phone, but she waved him away.

"You know as well as I do what happened." She almost sounded exasperated. "What did you see?"

Alice hesitated a moment, her eyes flickering to Edward's face. "I... saw your future change."

There was a pause on her end. "How did it change?" she asked tentatively. My heart wrenched again at her voice. Edward's eyes flickered down to me, full of pity. Growling in the back of my throat, I slammed my eyes closed, not wanting to see his sympathy.

"I don't know," Alice said cautiously. "You sort of... disappeared. Not like usual or like when you're with Jacob. More of... uncertainty in your future. You've reached a fork in the road and you haven't quite decided which path to take. I keep seeing different flashes of different futures, each unclear. It almost reminded me of when Edward couldn't decide what to do when he first met your mother."

"Was that it? You didn't see anything closer in the future?"

I looked up again to see Edward shaking his head at Alice. She hesitated. "Well... no. I saw something else."

"What did you see?" the voice from the phone persisted.

Alice shot Edward an apologetic look before replying. "I saw... you and Derek... together. Holding each other. And kissing. I guess that should be in past tense since it already happened now, right, Ness?"

I groaned emitted from the other end, almosting mimicking my own at Alice's words. I didn't want to know that. "Is Dad and Jake mad?" My heart twisted at the sound of her voice caressing my name. Never again.

"Edward isn't really... mad, per say. Not really." Edward snorted. Alice glanced at him and rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, he is furious. But not at you. He has it in his mind that Derek is taking advantage of you. You can't blame your father for being so protective like that."

"Tell him I'll talk with him once I get home." There was a pause on her end. "Wait, what about Jake?" I let out a pitiful whimper. Why was she torturing me this way and pretending to care? Edward shot me a look but I ignored him. He needed to get out of my head.

"Jacob's not mad either." Alice looked down at me, eyes full of sympathy.

"Really? Huh. I thought he'd act all protective like Dad. After all, he did towards all the other boys that talked to me during school." I snorted.

"It's not quite the same, Nessie." I shot her a warning look to get her to shut up. Surprisingly, she actually listened. "But I'm not really the one you should be talking to about that."

"Okay...."

It seemed Edward had enough. He held out his hand once more, motioning for her to give him the phone. When she refused, he swiped at it.

"Get away, Edward," she snarled.

"Give me the phone, Alice," he shot back and snatched it from her nimbly.

"Edward!" she protested, pouting at her brother.

He merely turned his back on her, pressing the phone to his ear. Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nessie?" he said softly.

"Hello? Dad?"

"Yes, it is I." He took a deep breath to stop his voice from trembling in his anger at Derek. "Listen, love, could you give the phone to that Derek boy? I would like to talk to him."

"Um... I don't think that's a good idea. You don't want people to find out we're not human, do you?"

"Ness, I won't say anything to him that'll give away what we are." Alice let out a snort, clearly not believing him. I didn't either. But he was free to pound that scum into shit if he wanted to...

"Also keep in mind that you're not my dad, you're my brother."

"Big brothers can be protective, too," he shot back. He would never win this argument. She had a quick mind and an even faster tongue. A ghost of a grin feathered on my lips at the thought before it vanished. _Never again_.

"I don't think you fit the 'big brother' stereotype very well."

He changed tactics, glaring at me for being right. "Give the phone to him, Ness."

"No."

He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "Ness...."

"No." Ha. He wouldn't win this either. She could be as ornery as a donkey. I frowned wistfully. _Never again_.

He sighed a sigh of defeat, shooting me another glare. Probably for knowing his daughter better than him. "So stubborn. Like your mother."

"I hear I get my stubbornness from you, though." A ghost of a grin couldn't help but pull at my lips. She was so amazing.

"Fine. Don't give him the phone. But we're having a serious talk when you get home, young lady," Edward said sternly. _Um, not intimidating at all, mindreader_. He ignored me, for once.

"Okay, now you _definitely_ don't sound like a big brother."

"Nessie...."

She giggled. "Alright. How's Jake?"

I moaned. Again with the fake concern. I turned my nose into the snow so I wouldn't have to see the bloodsuckers' unwanted looks of pity.

"Dad?" she inquired when he didn't answer. _Just say something,_ I growled in my head, laying an arm across my head.

"He's... fine." I could feel his gaze on my back. _Great answer_, I thought sarcastically. _That's not obvious at all._ I heard a low hiss of irritation.

"_Dad_..."

"Really. He's just... in a weird mood. Can you stay there for like an hour? I'll come and pick you up." _That's better Too bad that meant she has to be with _him_ for an another hour_. I moaned lowly like the pitiful animal I was. Like a wild animal in pain.

"Um... sure?"

"Alright. Be careful, Ness. Bye." There was a faint click.

"Why did you tell her to wait an hour?" Alice asked softly.

"Because," he answered, "I don't want her to see her best friend like this."

Best friend? Ha! That's all I'll ever be. If even that. If he was giving me an hour to put myself together, he was crazy. I would never heal from this, even with my super-fast werewolf healing powers. I curled into a tighter ball, trying to ignore the stabs of pain in my heart and trying not to think about the feeling that I had lost the only two people I had ever loved.

* * *

**Renesmee Cullen**

"You warm enough now?"

A light shudder ran down my spine at the feel of his warm breath in my ear. "Yeah," I sighed back, leaning my head against his chest. He had one toned arm wrapped around my shoulders, and the other was playing with the fingers on my hand.

We all migrated inside soon after Alice called me. Kevin's mom had come out, saying something about wolves and the cold and danger. We were now all sprawled around his living room, covered in blankets. The fire in the fireplace burned high and merry, the crackling snapping through the murmured conversations.

Derek and I were snuggled on the floor by the fireplace, better to soak up the heat. I did not feel the cold very much, but his fragile human body didn't work well with the cold, like all humans. Of course, he declared that I looked cold and needed to warm up, not himself — such a gentleman. He was leaned against the wall, a blanket around us both. I was lounged against him, my legs entwined with his. He was so soft, so fragile, so human, I had to watch every move I made around him. I was wondering how long it would take before he started sweating from my extreme body heat, especially while wrapped up in a blanket together.

Rachel and Jay were sitting together on the loveseat, Rachel curled on Jay's lap. A single, blue blanket covered the two of them and we could see movement underneath as occasional bursts of laughter emerged from the two. A smile couldn't help but creep on my lips as I watched them. Jay looked like he was currently poking her in the sides lightly, causing her to squirm and giggle. They were so cute together already.

Sophie occupied the other loveseat. She looked quite silly, all cocooned up in a huge fleece blanket; you could just barely see her eyes and nose poking out from within the mass of felt. Kevin was currently out of the room — he was in the kitchen, preparing cups of hot cocoa for us all. I had never had hot chocolate, but I figured that if I liked chocolate, I should like hot chocolate, too, right?

Everyone else was piled on the couch and on the floor. One of the other girls had her dainty, pink camera out and they were all taking turns posing. Human behavior was so strange sometimes.

"Okay, everyone, the cocoa's ready," Kevin said from the doorway. We all looked up to see him balancing a huge tray of little Styrofoam cups, each one sending out a small curl of steam. Sophie rushed up to relieve him of his load.

"You just stay right here by the fire. I'll go and get you a cup," Derek whispered to me as he got up, gently detangling his limbs from mine.

As he strode over to Kevin to grab two cups, I couldn't help but admire his form. We had all taken off our winter jackets, and underneath his, Derek had worn a form-fitting dark blue sweater that brought out the color of his eyes. I could see the muscles rippling beneath it from every move he made. He walked with such confidence that it just drew people's attention to him reflexively. As he headed back to me, his eyes concentrated down on the cups in his hands as to not spill, my eyes traced the contours of his face, the strong jaw that showed signs of dark stubble, his full lips currently in a small frown in his concentration, his slightly pointed nose, his thick locks curled in waves of chocolate, his dark brows furrowed as he watched his step, and his eyes that were presently the exact color of his sweater. And were locked directly with mine.

I glanced away, feeling the beginnings of a blush as my cheeks grew warmer at getting caught staring. Damn it. Why did I have to inherit that trait from Mom?

Derek settled down next to me once more, handing me a steaming cup gingerly.

"Careful, it's hot," he warned.

I nodded, cupping it in my hands and taking a small sip. I yelped softly as the liquid scalded my tongue; I couldn't even taste anything from that sip. I just felt the burning.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked, turned towards me with a hand outstretched to stroke my cheek. I nodded, looking away and feeling silly. He pulled my chin back to him, smiling gently. "I told you it was hot. Here." He then took my cup and blew gently over the top of the rim, his eyes locked with mine the whole time. He handed the cup back to me, repeating the warning.

Wary this time, I lifted the cup slowly to my lips, blowing on it once before taking another sip. This time, it wasn't as hot and I could taste it better now. It tasted similar to regular chocolate, though not quite the same. It was thick, foamy, and sweet. "Hmm. Yum," I burst out in my surprise.

He laughed softly. "Yeah, it is."

As I lowered my cup of cocoa, Sophie locked eyes with me — I still sensed a little venom in her gaze though it was much more subdued now that Kevin was by her side — and giggled. "You have a cocoa 'stache," she pointed out.

"You do," Derek murmured, turning my attention back to him. His gaze was directed slightly downward, focusing on my lips. A light shudder trembled my body. My tongue peaked out from between my lips to lick off the mustache. "Wait. Let me help you with that."

I pulled my tongue back between my teeth and my eyes fluttered closed as he leaned forward and pressed his lips at the upper right corner of my mouth, his warm tongue darting out to lick off the cocoa remains. He continued this across my upper lip then paused. "Yum. Tastes better on you," he whispered. He finally pressed his lips to mine for a second kiss.

It began as a soft peck on the lips but then his mouth grew hot and hard quickly. I could taste the sweet chocolate flavor on his tongue. He tugged at my bottom lip with his teeth then crushed his lips to mine. When I tried to return the favor, I bit a little too hard. A trickle of liquid slipped between my lips and I subconsciously swallowed. Ah. So sweet. So much better than that human drink. My tongue darted out to where my teeth had punctured skin, tasting the sweet, rusty tang of blood. Delicious.

He let out a small groan as I pressed myself to him, licking at the cut. But my inhuman force was too much for him and I sent the both of us toppling toward. My head smashed against the brick wall—fortunately, not hard enough to crack it—and clarity zoomed back into my mind. _What was I doing?!_ I shook my head like a confused dog and pushed myself away from Derek, who lay on the ground still, breathing heavily. His eyes sparkled as his gaze held mine.

I looked away. I couldn't believe what I was about to do. I had to stay away from him and his blood.

Scooting away from his form, I glanced towards my peers and a rush of blood filled my face at the sight of their amused expressions. They had been watching our make-out session with bursts of giggles and hooting, none of which had penetrated our occupied minds.

"That looked intense," Sophie giggled, throwing out _nonchalant_ when I saw _furious_.

"Get a room!" one of the other boys called out.

"Encore!" another rowdy boy shouted with glee.

Rachel and Jay grinned at me, but Kevin looked a little putdown.

"Hey, leave them alone," Kevin muttered. Of course, nobody listened.

I glanced away from my crowd, looking at my hands. No encore could happen. Not while I could lose control like that. It was lucky I could wrench myself away from him. It was lucky that I had a lot of self-control. But apparently not enough. I was a monster among these humans. Thank god my venom was faulty.

A body pressed itself to mine and I instinctively froze though I immediately recognized who it was.

"Hey, hey, hey," Derek murmured soothingly into my ear. "Don't listen to those idiots. You shouldn't be embarrassed for what we feel for each other."

I couldn't help but frown a little bit. I wasn't sure what I felt for one. And how could he still feel something for me when I bit him and was sucking his blood? And knocked him over like some bull?

He placed a kiss to my neck but I remained unresponsive stone. I couldn't lose control anymore. "Why don't we go find a room like they were suggesting? I'd like to finish what we've started."

I shuddered, thinking about what exactly that was — his death — and pulled away. "I don't think that's a good idea." At his downcast look, I hurriedly continued. "Because that's moving too fast for me. It was good that we stopped like that. Anyways, I don't think we'll get much privacy here," I added jokingly, making him grin.

"Alright," he agreed almost grudgingly. He pulled me back to him and merely draped an arm over my shoulders. I relaxed into his form but my mind stayed alert. I could still smell the blood from the cut I gave him.

"Hey, sorry for biting you too hard," I whispered, trying to turn it into a joke.

"No problem. I thought it was...." he trailed off, apparently not finding a good adjective to describe it and merely grinned at me suggestively. I rolled my eyes. At least he didn't suspect what I was.

I tried to ignore the cat callings that continued from the other humans but failed. As I let out a sigh, Derek looked down at me and seemed to hint what was bothering me.

"Hey! Shut up if you know what's good for you!" he called out and the room fell silent. "Thank you."

I smiled up at him. "Thanks. I have to say I admire your skills to get them all to listen to you."

He nuzzled my neck. "And not my other skills?"

I pulled away, giving him a warning look.

"Right. Sorry."

I settled back into his form. "It's alright."

We spent the rest of the time talking, to each other and the others. Too soon, though, a harsh knock came at the door.

Kevin got up to answer it, but I knew instantly who it was — I could smell him a mile away.

"Hey D—Edward."

Kevin backed away from the door, looking sort of shell-shocked. That didn't surprise me. Of course, he didn't really know what he was frightened of, just that Edward seemed a little... weird.

He stood, tall and imposing, in the doorway, hands clenched into fists in his pockets. His jaw was set; it almost looked as if he was restraining himself from biting everyone's necks by locking his teeth together. His eyes — a beautiful shade of gold — flashed with anger. Yet he still looked like a Greek God. Yet he looked so cool and composed. Yet no human suspected him.

I could see from the corner of my eyes as Sophie's jaw dropped slightly and Rachel's eyes bulged. I had to hold back the urge to roll my eyes at all the girls' star-struck expressions. Meanwhile, all the boys had mixed expressions of awe, fear, and jealousy.

I watched as my dad's eyes zeroed in on me and Derek, cuddled together on the floor. I could hear his teeth grind together. I shot him a warning glance. _Dad.... Calm down_, I thought.

His nostrils flared slightly before turning back to the frozen Kevin. "I'm here to pick up Ness," he said smoothly and I swore that all the human females melted at his voice.

Kevin slowly began to thaw out, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Ness? Oh. Renesmee. Yeah. Um. Come on in?"

"I'll just wait out here, thanks." There was some restrained fury in his voice, but none of the humans seemed to notice. I hurriedly got up before his control shattered.

Derek got up with me, pulling me into one last hug. "Ness. I like the sound of that. It's kind of catchy." He lightly brushed his lips over my cheekbone, a ghost of a kiss. "I'll see you later, Ness. I'll give you a call."

"M'kay," I agreed. "Bye everyone," I called out to the rest of them as I strode towards Dad. "Thanks for having us all over, Kevin," I said to him, giving him a small smile. He merely nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. "Let's go, Edward."

I followed him out the door to his Volvo, shooting one last look behind me. Everyone waved, but my attention was drawn to one lone figure, still standing by the fireplace. He raised a single hand and winked before blowing me a kiss.

"Dad," I complained as I climbed into the passenger side, "you are totally scaring all my friends. What could they have been thinking to make you put your scary vampire face on?"

"It wasn't all of them, sweetie. Most of their minds were occupied with trivial human nonsense," he replied softly as he pulled out of the driveway and zoomed towards the roads. I watched as the trees and houses whipped past.

_Then what was it?_

"Derek. And Kevin a little bit. And that Sophie girl. If her thoughts could kill, you would be dead by now," he joked lightly.

"Ha ha. Well, I already know about her envy but I still want to be her friend. Or try to be." _What about Derek and Kevin?_ I asked internally.

I heard his teeth grind together again. "Their impure thoughts of you... especially Derek. I half wish to turn around and—"

"Dad," I said warningly. "I can take care of myself. Besides, I like Derek. And Kevin," I added. "I would be devastated if you killed my newly-made friends." I turned to face him and grinned angelically.

He faced me, driving with ease, and crinkled his nose. "Why must you use your devilishly angelic charm on your poor father?"

"You just totally contradicted yourself, you know?"

"Again with the attitude."

"Sorry Dad. I'm supposed to act like a normal teenager, and I am."

"Too bad I'm not your father in that case. I'm your brother."

"Good thing teenagers can have attitudes against their overprotective older brothers too," I teased back.

Edward reached for my hand and squeezed it. "I just want you safe, sweetheart. Is that too much to ask?"

"I'll be fine, Dad. I'm indestructible, remember?"

"Only physically," he said so softly even I had to strain to hear it. "Just to let you know, I don't approve of Derek."

"Just to let you know, get over it," I joked. "But really, Dad, give him a chance. He's actually really sweet."

"On the outside, maybe, but his thoughts aren't so sweet," he retorted.

"Whose thoughts ever are? I doubt yours or Emmett's or Jasper's or Jake's ever are," I shot back.

He grinned at me. "So sharp-witted."

_You know it_, I crowed in my mind.

We fell into a silence as Edward weaved up our long driveway to our home.

"Hey, why didn't Jake tag along to pick me up?" I asked suddenly, realizing why it seemed so weird on the ride home. Jake always tagged along whenever he could be with me. It was very unlike him to pass off an opportunity to hang out with his best friend.

Dad didn't answer for a long second. "Because he's not here."

A chill tickled my spine. "What do you mean? Like he's out hunting?"

Another long pause. "No. I mean he left. He went back to Forks."

* * *

**A/N: **Annnd, there you have it. Poor Jake, I know. =(

Tell me what you think, eh? About Jake, about Derek, about Nessie, about whatever. =) The kiss, Jake running away.... I could list topics forever. =)

Reviews make me a happy duck!


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